¥  BABBITT'S 

latent  50ft  Petal  f  ittefc  gms, 

FOB 

AXLES,    GUDGEONS,   ETC. 


PATENTED    JULY    17,   1839. 
PATENT   EXTENDED   EOE    SEVEN  YEAES 

FROM    JULY    17,   1853. 


PATENT,   PETITION,  AFFIDAVITS,  ETC. 

gtolte  of  Sails,  ©pwm  of  tatsd,  dt. 


A.  B.  ELY,  Esq.,  BOSTON, 

ATTORNEY,   AND  SOLE  AGENT. 

WILLIAM  WHITING,  Esq.,  BOSTON, 

COUNSEL  FOR  PATENT. 


BO  STON: 

PRINTED  BY  ALFRED  MUDGE,  No.  21  SCHOOL  STREET. 
1854. 


9-39^_ rf<J5^^1 


BABBITT'S 
fiitti  50ft  SttBl  fiu%  S0*es, 

FOR 

AXLES,    GUDGEONS,   ETC. 


PATENTED    JULY    17,    1839. 
PATENT    EXTENDED    FOE    SEVEN   YEARS 

FROM    JULY    17,   1853. 


PATENT,   PETITION,    AFFIDAVITS,  ETC. 
SissHs  of  Suite,  ©pioit  ai  found,  tk. 


A.  B.  ELY,   Esq.,  BOSTON, 

ATTORNEY,   AND   SOLE  AGENT. 

WILLIAM   WHITING,  Esq.,  BOSTON, 

COUNSEL  FOR  PATENT. 


BOSTON: 

PRINTED   BY   ALFRED  MUDGE,  No.  21  SCHOOL   STREET. 

1854. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

Boston  Library  Consortium  Member  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/babbittspatentsoOObabb 


PATENT    RIGHT 


No.  1252. 

THE   UNITED   STATES   OF  AMERICA, 
To  all  to  whom  these  Letters  Patent  shall  come. 

Whereas,  ISAAC  BABBITT,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts, 
lias  alleged  that  he  has  invented  a  new  and  useful  im- 
provement in  the  mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and 
Gudgeons,  which  he  states  has  not  been  known  or  used 
before  his  application ;  has  made  oath  that  he  is  a  citizen 
of  the  United  States ;  that  he  does  verily  believe  that  he 
is  the  original  and  first  inventor  or  discoverer  of  the  said 
improvement,  and  that  the  same  hath  not,  to  the  best  of 
his  knowledge  and  belief,  been  previously  known  or  used  ; 
has  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  the  sum 
of  thirty  dollars,  and  presented  a  petition  to  the  Com- 
missioner of  Patents,  signifying  a  desire  of  obtaining  an 
exclusive  property  in  the  said  improvement,  and  praying 
that  a  patent  may  be  granted  for  that  purpose. 

These  are,  therefore,  to  grant,  according  to  law,  to  the 
said  Isaac  Babbitt,  his  heirs,  administrators,  or  assigns, 
for  the  term  of  fourteen  years  from  the  seventeenth  day  of 


July,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine,  the 
full  and  exclusive  right  and  liberty  of  making,  construct- 
ing, using,  and  vending  to  others  to  be  used,  the  said  im- 
provement ;  a  description  whereof  is  given  in  the  words  of 
the  said  Isaac  Babbitt,  in  the  schedule  hereunto  annexed, 
and  is  made  a  part  of  these  presents. 

In  Testimony  Whebeof,  I  have  caused  these  Letters  to 
be  made  Patent,  and  the  seal  of  the  Patent  Office  has 
been  hereunto  affixed. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  City  of  Washington,  this 
seventeenth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-nine,  and  of  the  In- 
dependence of  the  LTnited  States  of  America,  the  sixty- 
fourth. 

JOHN   FOESYTH, 

Secretary  of  State. 
HENEY   L.   ELLSWOETH, 

Commissioner  of  Patents. 
a£g£g.g£jg  Countersigned  and  Sealed  with  the  Seal 

£SEAL'S  of  the  Patent  Office. 


The  Schedule  referred   to  in  these  Letters  Patent,  and 
making  part  of  the  same. 

To  all  to  whom  it  may  congern.  Be  it  known,  that 
I,  Isaac  Babbitt,  of  the  city  of  Boston,  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  have  invented  a  new  and  improved  mode 
of  making  or  constructing  the  boxes  within  which  the 
gudgeons,  or  journals  for  machinery  in  general,  and  the 
axles  of  railroad  cars,  locomotive  engines,  and  other  cars 
and  carriages,  arc  to  run ;  by  which  mode  of  constructing 
or  making  such  boxes  or  bearings,  the  heating  and  abra- 
sion which  is  apt  to  occur  under  the  ordinary  mode  of 
constructing  them,  are  prevented,  and  their  durability  is 
consequently  increased.  And  I  do  hereby  declare,  that 
the  following  is  a  full  and  exact  description  thereof. 

I  prepare  boxes  which  are  to  be  received  into  housings, 
or  plummer-blocks,  in  the  ordinary  way  of  forming  such 
boxes,  making  them  of  any  kind  of  metal,  or  metallic 
compound,  which  has  sufficient  strength,  and  which  is 
capable  of  being  tinned.  The  inner  parts  of  these  boxes 
are  to  be  lined  with  any  of  the  harder  kinds  of  compo- 
sition, known  under  the  name  of  Britannia  metal,  or  pew- 
ter, of  which  block-tin  is  the  basis.  An  excellent  com- 
pound for  this  purpose,  I  have  prepared,  by  taking  about 
fifty  parts  of  tin,  five  of  antimony,  and  one  of  copper: 
but  1  do  not  intend  to  confine  myself  to  this  particular 
composition.  To  prepare  the  boxes  for  the  reception  of 
this  composition,  I  cast  them  with  projecting  rims  along 


their  interior  edges  and  on  their  ends,  within  the  semi- 
cylindrical  part,  which  is  to  receive  the  axle  or  gudgeon. 
I  then  tin  the  inner  surface  of  said  boxes,  and  the  ledges 
or  rims  above  named,  in  order  to  cause  the  metallic  com- 
position, with  which  they  are  to  be  lined  or  cased,  to  ad- 
here to  them. 

Tig.  1,  in  the  accompanying  drawing,  is  a  perspective 
view  of  one  of  these  boxes  ;  fig.  2,  is  a  cross ;  and  fig.  3, 
a  longitudinal  section  through  it.  a  a,  in  figs.  1  and  3, 
are  the  ledges  or  rims  along  the  edges ;  and  b  b,  those 
around  the  ends  of  said  box.  The  use  of  these  is  to  hold 
the  metallic  lining  firmly  in  its  place,  and  prevent  its 
spreading.  The  lining  may  be  used,  however,  without 
such  ledges  or  rims. 

In  finishing  one  of  these  boxes,  I  proceed  in  the  following- 
manner  : 

I  coat  the  inside,  including  the  rims,  with  tin,  in  the 
well-known  manner  of  performing  that  operation.  I  then 
take  a  cylindrical,  or  semi-cylindrical  former,  of  the  exact 
size  in  its  cylindrical  parts,  of  the  gudgeon  or  axle  which 
is  to  run  within  it.  And  upon  this  axle,  gudgeon,  or 
former,  I  place  my  box  in  such  manner  as  that  the  axis 
of  the  axle  or  gudgeon,  and  of  the  curvature  of  the  box, 
shall  coincide,  my  box  being  of  such  size  as  that,  when  so 
placed,  the  projecting  rims  or  ledges,  shall  not  touch,  but 
shall  be  nearly  in  contact  with  the  gudgeon,  or  axle,  say 
within  the  distance  of  from  a  sixteenth  to  a  thirty-second 
part  of  an  inch,  more  or  less.  I  then  close  these  spaces- 
by  any  suitable  means,  and  it  is  then  prepared  to  receive 


9 


the  lining  of  composition  metal,  which  is  to  be  melted  and 
poured  in.  For  the  purpose  of  pouring  it  in,  there  is  a 
hole,  c,  left  through  the  middle  of  the  box,  which,  in 
those  for  railroads,  may  be  an  inch  in  diameter,  and  will, 
in  all  cases,  be  proportioned  to  the  size  of  the  box.  The 
metal  thus  poured  in,  will  take  to  the  tinned  surface  of 
the  interior  of  the  box,  and  the  surrounding  rims  or  ledges, 
and  will  cover  the  edges  of  the  latter,  so  as  to  prevent 
contact  between  them  and  the  axles  or  gudgeons  which 
they  are  to  receive,  whilst  the  ledges  will  effectually 
check  any  tendency  in  the  metal  to  spread,  from  the 
weight  and  friction  of  the  load.  When  the  ledges  are 
not  used,  the  coating  of  composition  metal  should  be  but 
thin. 

Having  thus  fully  described  the  nature  of  my  im- 
provement, and  shown  the  manner  in  which  I  carry  the 
same  into  operation,  what  I  claim  as  my  invention,  and 
desire  to  secure  by  Letters  Patent,  is  the  making  of  the 
boxes  for  axles  and  gudgeons,  in  the  manner  above  set 
forth,  that  is  so  say :  by  the  casting  of  hard  pewter,  or 
composition  metal,  of  which  tin  is  the  basis,  into  said 
boxes,  they  being  first  prepared  and  provided,  [er  net,] 
with  rims  or  ledges,  and  coated  with  tin,  as  herein  de- 
scribed and  made  known. 

ISAAC   BABBITT. 
THOS.  P.  JONES,  >  mtmsses 
LINTON  THORN,  5 


10 


This  Schedule  contains  a  description  of  improvements 
annexed  and  added  to  Letters  Patent  granted  to  Isaac 
Babbitt,  bearing  date  the  seventeenth  day  of  July, 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-nine,  and  making  part  of 
the  same. 

Be  it  known,  that  I,  Isaac  Babbitt,  of  Boston,  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  have  made  the  following  improve, 
ments  in  the  "mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  %  and 
Gudgeons ;  "  for  which  boxes  I  obtained  Letters  Patent 
of  the  United  States,  dated  the  17th  day  of  July,  1839  ; 
and  the  improvements  herein  made  known,  are  to  be 
added  to  said  Letters  Patent,  and  to  make  a  part  thereof. 
And  I  hereby  declare,  that  the  following  is  a  full  and  ex- 
act description  of  my  said  improvements. 

In  the  accompanying  drawing,  fig.  4  is  a  perspective 
representation  of  one  of  my  boxes,  similar  to  that  shown 
in  fig.  1  in  the  drawing  attached  to  the  original  patent ; 
but  with  an  improvement  thereon. 

Fig.  5  is  a  longitudinal  section  of  the  said  improved  box. 
corresponding  with  fig.  3  in  the  original  drawing ;  in  each 
of  these  figures,  a  a  are  the  ledges  or  rims  along  the 
edges,  and  b  b,  those  around  the  ends,  for  confining  the 
metallic  lining  in  place,  and  preventing  its  spreading, 
as  in  the  original  boxes  ;  c  c,  is  the  hole  for  pouring  in 
the  metallic  lining. 

The  improvement  in  this  and  similar  boxes,  consists  in 
the  providing  or  forming  a  rebate  or  recess,  at  the  ends 


Fig.  5. 


]:; 


•of  such  boxes,  within  which  rebate,  the  composition 
metal,  of  the  nature  set  forth  in  my  original  specification, 
is  to  be  received,  and  by  which  it  is  to  be  confined, 
for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  the  end  bearings  of  the 
shoulders  of  axles,  or  gudgeons,  or  of  such  other  parts  of 
the  machinery  which  may  run  against  them,  or  against 
which  they  may  run,  or  bear.  These  rebates,  or  recesses, 
are  shown  at  d  d,  outside  of  the  ledges  b  b,  around  the 
ends  of  the  boxes ;  and  these  are  to  be  filled  with  the  metal- 
lic composition,  in  the  same  operation  in  which  the  parts 
within  the  ledges  a  a  and  b  b  are  filled. 

This  metallic  lining,  confined  by  rims  or  ledges,  is  not 
only  applicable  to  boxes  for  axles  or  gudgeons,  and  for  the 
journals  of  machinery  in  general,  where  boxes  are  divid- 
ed, so  as  to  form  semi-cylinders,  but  it  is  equally  applicable 
to  boxes,  or  sockets,  which  are  not  divided,  but  form  a 
continuous  circle,  or  a  socket  which  is  square,  or  of  any 
other  form,  and  within  which  a  rod  or  bar  is  to  slide,  as 
for  example  :  for  the  guides  of  locomotives,  and  other  en- 
gines ;  and  it  will  also  serve,  perfectly  well,  as  a  metallic 
packing  around  the  rods,  or  stems  of  valves,  and  of  other 
parts  of  engines  similarly  employed ;  the  same  having 
been  so  used  by  me,  and  with  perfect  success. 

Fig.  6  is  a  section  through  the  socket  or  bushing  of 
a  pulley,  or  sheave,  to  be  used  in  blocks  on  board  of 
vessels,  or  elsewhere ;  c  c  are  the  ledges  which  are  to  con- 
fine the  metallic  lining  represented  by  the  solid  lines//'; 
the  projecting  parts,  g  g,  are  the  flanches  of  the  bushing, 
which   are  to  ]je  let  into  the  sheave,  in  the  usual  way. 


14 


The  casting  of  the  metal  into  the  interior  of  these  sockets, 
or  bushes,  or  into  the  sockets  of  slides,  will  he  effected  in 
the  same  way  as  in  other  boxes  or  sockets.  By  the  use 
of  this  metallic  lining,  and  the  employment  of  hard  com- 
position metal  of  copper  and  tin,  or  of  analagous  compounds, 
such  as  are  commonly  used  for  the  casting  of  boxes,  to 
form  the  pins,  bolts,  or  gudgeons,  upon  which  the  sheaves 
are  to  run,  in  lieu  of  pins  or  gudgeons  of  iron ;  the  inju- 
rious consequences  frequently  resulting  from  the  oxidation 
of  the  iron,  are  obviated,  such  sheaves  always  turning  freely 
upon  their  pins  or  gudgeons,  whilst  it  not  unfrequently 
happens  that  they  are  set  fast,  or  greatly  obstructed  by 
oxidation,  when  iron  is  used. 

Where  guide  rods,  or  stems  of  valves,  floats,  or  other 
rods  or  stems,  are  to  slide  endwise,  the  principle  of  con- 
struction and  of  operation  will* not  be  thereby  changed  ; 
the  lining,  and  the  ledges  to  confine  it,  being  similarly 
employed,  and  the  advantages  derived  will  be  the  same  in 
a  sliding,  as  in  a  revolving  motion. 

Having  thus  fully  described  the  nature  of  my  additional 
improvements,  and  having  also  furnished  various  exempli- 
fications of  the  manner  in  which,  and  the  purposes  for 
which,  they  may  be  used :  what  I  now  claim,  in  addition 
to  my  former  claims,  is  the  making  or  forming  of  recesses 
or  rebates,  in  the  manner  set  forth,  in  the  ends  of  the 
boxes  or  sockets,  for  axles  or  gudgeons ;  which  rebates  or 
recesses  are  to  be  filled  with  the  composition  metal  which 
constitutes  the  lining  of  said  boxes,  so  as  to  form  end 
bearings  of  that  material.     I  also  claim  the  employment 


15 


of  boxes,  or  sockets  thus  prepared,  with  such  ledges  and 
lining,  whether  used  for  a  sliding  motion,  as  in  the 
guides  of  steam  engines,  or  in  the  packing  of  rods  or 
stems,  instead  of  the  ordinary  elastic  packing ;  or  in  any 
way,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  which  is  substantially  the 
same. 

ISAAC   BABBITT. 
THOS.  P.  JONES,  }  xsrv 
B.  K.  MOESELL,       Wttne88e8' 


I  hereby  certify  the  foregoing  additional  Sched- 
ule has,  this  fourth  day  of  September,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  forty,  been  duly  annexed  to  the  original 
patent  of  Isaac  Babbitt,  and  that  the  same  is  duly  re- 
corded on  the  books  of  the  Patent  Office,  and  that  fifteen 
dollars,  the  duty  by  law  required,  has  been  paid  into  the' 
Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

H.  L.  Ellsworth, 

Commissioner  of  Patents^ 

Whereas,  upon  the  petition  of  Isaac  Babbitt,  of  Pox- 
bury,  Massachusetts,  for  an  extension  of  the  within 
patent,  granted  on  the  17th  day  of  July,  1839,  the  under- 
signed, Commissioner  of  Patents,  in  accordance  with  the 
18th  Section  of  the  Act  of  Congress,  approved  the  4th 
day  of  July,  1846,  entitled  "An  Act  to  promote  the  pro- 


16 


gress  of  tlie  useful  arts,  and  to  repeal  all  Acts  heretofore 
made  for  that  purpose,"  and  the  Act  approved  the  27th 
day  of  May,  1848,  entitled  "An  Act  to  provide  ad- 
ditional examiners  in  the  Patent  Office,  and  for  other 
purposes,"  did,  on  the  8th  day  of  July,  1853,  certify  that 
the  said  Patent  ought  to  be  extended. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Charles  Mason,  Commissioner  of  Pa- 
tents, "by  virtue  of  the  power  vested  in  me  "by  said  Acts 
of  Congress,  do  renew  and  extend  said  Patent,  and  certify 
that  the  same  is  hereby  extended  for  the  term  of  seven 
years,  from  and  after  the  expiration  of  the  first  term, 
viz.  the  17th  day  of  July,  1853  ;  which  certificate  being 
duly  entered  of  record  in  the  Patent  Office,  the  said  Pa- 
tent has  now  the  same  effect  in  law,  as  though  the  same 
had  been  originally  granted  for  the  term  of  twenty-one 
years. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused  the  seal  of  the 
Patent  Office  to  be  hereunto  affixed,  the  8th  day  of  July. 
1853,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States,  the 
seventy-eighth. 

CHAS.  MASON, 

■% 

Commissioner  of  Patents. 

<m  >® 

9{SEAL.^ 


17 


EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  PETITION  OF  MR.  BABBITT, 
FOR  THE  EXTENSION  OF  HIS  PATENT. 

To  the  Honorable  Commissioner  of  Patents,  at  the  Uni- 
ted States  Patent  Office,   Washington,  D.  C. 

Respectfully  represents  Isaac  Babbitt,  of  Roxbury. 
Massachusetts :  — 

That  he  is  the  first,  original,  and  true  inventor  and  Pa- 
tentee of  the  "  Improved  mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles 
and  Gudgeons  ;  "  for  which  Letters  Patent  were  issued  to 
him,  dated  the  17th  day  of  July,  A.  D.  1839,  with  the 
additions  thereto  annexed,  dated  the  4th  day  of  Septem- 
ber, A.  D.  1840. 

And  that  he  is  desirous  of  procuring  an  extension  of 
his  said  Patent,  beyond  the  term  of  its  limitation,  for  and 
during  the  period  allowed  by  law. 

And  he  says  that  he  believes  that  he  was  the  first  per- 
son in  this  country  who  succeeded,  untaught,  and  by  his 
own  unaided  efforts,  in  combining  the  materials  for,  and 
in  manufacturing,  Britannia  Ware  of  the  best  quality 
and  highest  finish ;  and  that  he  was,  as  he  believes,  the 
originator  and  founder  of  the  successful  making  and 
manufacturing  of  the  best  kinds  of  Britannia  ware  in  the 
United  States. 

And  he  further  says,  that  subsequently  thereto,  he  was- 
also,  as  he  believes,  the  first  person  in  this  country  who 
2* 


18 


succeeded  in  tinning  cast  iron  hollow  ware,  successfully 
and  perfectly;  and  that  for  his  Britannia  ware,  and 
tinned  cast  iron  hollow  ware,  he  obtained  various  prizes. 

And  he  further  says,  that  subsequently  thereto,  he  was 
also,  as  he  believes,  the  first  person  in  this  country  who 
succeeded  in  making  and  rolling  sheet  zinc,  and  zinc  foil, 
of  a  perfect  kind  and  uniform  quality. 

And  he  further  says,  that  subsequently  thereto,  he  was 
also,  as  he  believes,  the  first  person  in  this  country  who 
succeeded  in  the  perfect  casting  of  brass  cannon;  and 
that  he  cast  a  large  number  of  such  cannon  for  the  United 
States  Government. 

And  he  says,  that  he  arrived  at  his  knowledge  and 
success  in  these  matters,  only  after  long  and  laborious 
study  and  experiment,  and  great  expenditure  of  time  and 
money.  And  that  his  attainments  and  skill  rendered  his 
services,  as  a  scientific  and  practical  worker  in  metals,  of 
great  value,  and  brought  them  into  high  demand,  so  that 
he  could  readily  command  the  highest  prices  for  his  skill 
and  labor. 

And  he  says,  that  he  mentions  these  facts,  not  as  bear- 
ing upon  his  present  petition,  except  as  they  show  his 
knowledge  and  skill,  and  as  furnishing  conclusive  reasons 
for  the  correctness  of  the  estimate  of  the  value  of  his  time 
and  services  as  a  workman,  for  himself  and  others. 

And  the  said  Isaac  Babbitt  says,  that  while  he  was 
engaged  in  the  casting  of  brass  cannon  for  the  govern- 
ment,  about  the  year  I836r  he  conceived  the  idea  of  using 
metallic  boxes  lined  with  some  composition  metal  of  softer 


19 


material,  for  the  bearings  of  axles  and  gudgeons,  where 
any  considerable  wear  or  strain  was  necessary  to  be  ap- 
plied. 

That  for  the  bearings  of  machinery,  locomotives,  and 
ear  axles,  and  cranks,  crank-shafts,  and  crank-pins  of 
steamboats  and  engines,  it  had  been  customary  to  use 
brass  or  gun  metal,  as  the  material  upon,  and  in  which, 
axles,  gudgeens,  and  pins  revolved;  but  that  the  same 
were  so  constantly  liable  to  heat  and  abrasion,  as  to  occa- 
sion infinite  trouble  and  expense,  to  say  nothing  of  unre- 
mitting care  and  anxiet3T.  In  fact,  so  great  was  the  un- 
certainty and  trouble,  that  in  very  many  instances  it  was 
impossible  to  rely  upon  the  workings  of  steam  vessels  and 
locomotives. 

That,  fully  aware  of  these  difficulties,  and  with  the  de- 
sire of  obviating  them,  having  conceived  the  idea  of  using 
a  softer  composition  metal  as  a  lining  to  boxes,  upon? 
around,  and  in  which,  the  axles,  gudgeons,  pins,  and  con- 
necting-rods might  revolve  and  move,  he  set  about  making 
experiments,  and  continued  them  till  the  year  1839,  when 
he  so  far  perfected  his  invention,  as  to  apply  it  to  actual 
practical  use,  and  to  secure  a  patent  therefor ;  which  pa- 
tent was  issued  July  17th,  A.  D.  1839,  as  aforsaid;  to 
which  additions  were  subsequently  made,  September  4th, 
A.  D.  1840,  and  an  extension  of  which  he  now  seeks. 

And  he  says,  that  immediately  before,  at,  and  ever 
since  the  granting  of  said  Letters  Patent,  he  devoted  him- 
self exclusively  to  the  subject  matter  of  said  patent,  and 
the  introduction  thereof  into  general  use. 


20 


And  he  says,  that  it  was  for  a  long  time  impossible  to 
convince  even  practical  machinists  and  engineers  of  the 
possibility,  and  especially  of  the  practicability,  of  using 
softer  metals  for  the  bearings  of  machinery  where  any 
considerable  strain  or  power  was  to  be  experienced  or  ap- 
plied ;  that  the  idea  that  the  use  of  a  softer  metal  would 
occasion  less  heat,  and  diminish  friction  and  abrasion, 
and  consequently  trouble  and  expense,  seemed  to  most, 
an  absurdity.  And  that  it  was  only  after  long  and  great 
labor,  and  with  the  most  persevering  exertion,  that  he 
could  so  far  overcome  prejudice  as  to  introduce  the  use  of 
his  softer  metallic  linings  for  boxes,  for  axles  and  gudg- 
eons, to  any  considerable  extent. 

And  he  says,  that  his  object  being  practically  to  de- 
monstrate the  use  of  his  metallic  boxes,  and  to  introduce 
them  into  practical  use,  he  procured  a  shop  to  be  built, 
and  went  to  work  manufacturing  boxes  of  different  kinds 
for  different  machinery.  That  he  went  to  great  expense 
of  time,  and  labor,  and  money,  to  render  his  work  perfect 
in  quality  and  material,  and  perfectly  adapted  to  the  uses 
to  which  it  was  to  be  applied.  That  of  the  work  so  made 
by  him  he  gave  away  a  very  great  part  to  railroads,  man- 
ufactories, and  others,  for  the  purpose  of  inducing  them 
to  test  the  material  and  its  qualities ;  and  that  he  was 
obliged  to  travel  about,  at  great  loss  of  time  and  at  great 
expense,  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  his  invention,  and 
of  inducing  persons,  corporations,  and  companies  to  give 
it  a  practical  trial. 

And  he  says,  that  he  believes  the  said  invention,  and 


21 


the  idea  thereof,  and  the  practical  application  thereof,  to 
have  been  entirely  novel  and  original  with  himself,  and 
that  its  novelty  and  nature  was  such  that  users  and  pur- 
chasers were  to  he  sought  out  and  solicited  with  care  and 
importunity  ;  although  when  once  used,  it  could  not,  and 
did  not,  fail  to  commend  itself  to  their  unqualified 
approbation. 

And  he  says,  that  the  saving  of  from  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  in  the  single  article  of  oil,  and  the  gain  of 
seventy-five  to  a  hundred  per  cent,  in  the  number  of 
miles  run  without  repairs,  in  the  running  of  locomotive 
engines,  may,  perhaps,  sufficiently  demonstrate  the  useful- 
ness, as  well  as  the  value  and  importance,  of  this  inven- 
tion, to  the  public  ;  but  when  this  advantage,  to  say  no- 
thing of  others,  comes  to  be  applied  to  all  machinery,  and 
to  all  bearings  where  there  is  strain  and  wear,  the  utility, 
as  well  as  the  value  and  importance  of  the  invention, 
would  seem  to  be  well  nigh  incalculable.  Such,  indeed.. 
is  its  usefulness  and  value,  that  in  the  belief  of  said 
Babbitt,  if  it  were  now  blotted  out  of  existence,  millions 
of  money  alone  could  not  replace  it  or  atone  for  it.  And 
he  verily  believes,  that  without  it  no  locomotive  of  any 
power,  and  no  steamship,  could  be  relied  upon  with  any 
certainty,  even  for  a  short  period  of  time. 

And  he  begs  leave  to  refer  to  printed  copy  of  American 
and  English  reports  and  certificates  concerning  his  pa- 
tent boxes,  accompanying  this  petition,  as  containing,  as 
he  believes,  true  and  reliable  statements,  worthy  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Commissioner. 


22 


And  lie  says,  that  in  the  outset  he  put  the  price  of  his 
work  at  a  very  low  rate,  as  an  inducement  to  persons  to 
purchase  the  same,  and  that  very  soon  afterwards  the  price 
of  the  main  ingredient  of  his  composition  largely  ad- 
vanced ;  but  that  having  once  fixed  his  price  for  work,  he 
could  not  well  vary  it,  especially  as  he  was  anxious  to  in- 
duce persons  to  become  purchasers,  and  to  employ  him ; 
and  his  invention  being  unknown,  he  was  compelled  to 
solicit  notice,  instead  of  waiting  to  be  solicited. 

And  he  says,  that  he  was  frequently  obliged  to  get  up 
patterns  and  castings,  at  large  expense,  and  then  to  make 
work  at  a  large  sacrifice,  that  he  might  produce  and  take 
the  work,  ready  for  use,  to  the  several  railroads  and  man- 
ufactories, to  induce,  by  gift,  or  sale  at  small  price,  the 
trial  of  the  invention. 

And  he  says,  that  after  a  time  he  found  it  necessary  to 
keep  in  his  employment  a  number  of  men  more  than  he 
had  work  for  steadily,  because  he  occasionally  would  have 
an  order  for  work  of  some  magnitude,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  the  workmen  on  hand  in  readiness  to  execute 
it  promptly,  although,  for  a  large  portion  of  the  time,  they 
could  not  be  employed  to  advantage  or  profit.  And,  be- 
sides, whenever  any  order  was  obtained  for  work,  he  felt 
obliged  to  keep  his  workmen  in  pay  and  readiness,  under 
the  constant  hope  and  expectation  that  business  would 
increase,  and  command  all  their  time. 

And  the  said  Babbitt  says,  that  he  was  induced  to 
incur  these  expenses  with  the  hope  and  expectation  that. 
as  he  knew  his  invention  to  be  eminently  useful  and  of 


23 


great  value,  others  would,  in  this  way,  become  informed 
thereof,  and  acquainted  therewith,  and  that  after  he  had 
made  and  introduced  it  into  actual  practical  use  himself, 
he  should  eventually  realize  from  the  patent  itself,  and 
the  sale  of  licenses  thereunder,  rather  than  from  the  work 
which  he  might  manufacture. 

And  he  says,  that  he  was  greatly  desirous  that  his 
invention  should  he  fully  and  fairly  examined,  and  prac- 
tically tested,  and  that  the  work  to  he  tried  should  be  of 
the  best  and  most  perfect  quality ;  and  that  he  labored, 
and  travelled,  and  expended  large  sums,  with  the  full 
knowledge  that  his  said  invention  would  stand  any  test, 
however  rigorous,  and  that  it  was  only  by  constant  and 
persevering  personal  exertions  and  gratuitous  gifts,  that 
he  could  so  bring  it  to  the  practical  knowledge  of  those 
who  would  be  most  benefitted  by  it,  as  to  overcome  preju- 
dices against  it,  and  cause  it  to  come  into  general  use. 

And  he  says,  that  he  made  and  gave  away  very  large 
amounts  of  work,  not  only  to  individuals,  companies,  and 
corporations,  but  that  he  made  and  gave  away  work,  to  a 
considerable  extent,  to  the  navy  yards  of  government,  at 
Charlestown  and  at  Washington ;  and  that  he  also  sent 
out  large  quantities  of  metal,  and  samples  of  work,  to 
various  places,  and  in  various  ways,  at  his  own  cost. 

And  he  says,  that  in  the  year  1842  he  took  means  to 
introduce  it  the  government  of  the  United  States,  with 
the  hope  of  inducing  government  to  purchase  of  him  the 
right  to  use  his  invention  in  and  about  their  machinery 
and  mechanical  operations. 


24 


And  he  says,  that  at  or  about  that  time,  the  United 
States  steamers  Mississippi  and  Princeton  were  building, 
or  had  just  been  built,  and  that  it  was  found  impossible 
to  make  them  operate  with  any  satisfaction  without  the 
use  of  his  invention.  And  that,  although  the  former  ves- 
sel was  completed  without,  she  was,  as  he  is  informed  and 
believes,  subsequently  brought  to  Boston,  and  had  her 
main  deck  taken  up  for  the  purpose  of  putting  in  his 
patent  boxes  for  her  main  shaft ;  while,  as  he  is  also 
informed  and  believes,  the  constructor  of  the  latter  vessel 
would  not  suffer  her  to  be  completed,  unless  this  said 
patent  invention  could  be  used  therein. 

And  he  says,  that  after  considerable  exertion  and  great 
expense  on  his  part,  the  government  of  the  United  States 
was  authorized  by  Congress  to  make  with  him  a  contract 
for  the  right  to  manufacture  and  use  his  invention  wher- 
ever they  might  wish  ;  which  authority  was  exercised  by 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  September,  A.  D.,  18-12, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1843,  the  sum  of  $20,000,  was  paid 
to  said  Babbitt,  by  the  United  States,  for  their  right  to 
make  and  use  his  said  patent.  And  he  begs  leave  to  refer 
to  printed  copy  of  the  report  made  in  the  Senate,  in  April, 
1842,  with  the  documents  therein  referred  to,  contained 
in  the  Book  of  American  and  English  Reports,  accompany- 
ing this  petition. 

And  the  said  Babbitt  says,  that  at  this  time  he  had 
expended  all  his  means,  including  not  only  all  that  he  had 
invested  in  his  business  originally,  but  also  all  that  he 
had  received,  as  well  from  his  patent,  and  the  sale  of 


25 


licenses  to  use  the  same,  and  from  his  workshop  and 
foundry,  as  from  any  and  all  other  sources ;  and  that  he 
was  moreover  largely  in  debt,  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that- 
had  it  not  "been  for  this  contract  made  with  the  govern- 
ment, and  the  money  received  therefrom,  he  would  have 
been  compelled  to  cease  operations  entirely,  and  become 
openly  insolvent, 

And  the  said  Babbitt  says,  that  he  continued  his  work- 
shop and  foundry,  enlarging  the  same  somewhat  materially 
up  to  the  fall  of  1846,  being  continually  and  unremit- 
tingly engaged  in  labors  and  experiments,  for  the  purpose 
of  perfecting  his  invention,  so  that  it  should  be  presented 
in  the  most  simple,  perfect,  and  reliable  form,  and  should 
afford  to  the  public  the  utmost  utility  ;  and  that  mean- 
time he  was  using  every  effort,  by  personal  exertion  and 
otherwise,  to  introduce  it  into  general  use. 

And  he  says,  that  in  order  to  perfect  his  said  inven- 
tion, or  rather  as  an  inducement  to  others  to  purchase  and 
use  it  in  its  perfected  form,  he  found  it  necessary  to  make 
many  experiments  regarding  the  best  proportions  and  the 
best  mode  of  combining  the  several  ingredients  necessary 
to  make  the  composition  metal  with  which  he  lined  his 
boxes ;  and  that  he  did  this  at  great  labor,  and  expense, 
and  care,  that  he  might  the  more  readily  instruct  others  in 
the  use  of  his  invention,  and  that  it  might  in  no  degree  fail 
of  its  utility  through  their  ignorance  or  unskilfulness. 

And  he  says,  that  among  other  things,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  his  applications  to  railroads,  he  expended  large 
sums  in  putting  up  and  in  fitting  up  a  cupola  furnace,  for 
3 


the  purpose  of  getting  up  jaws  and  pedestals  for  railroad 
ears,  in  order  that,  by  perfecting  and  adapting  the  inmie- 
diate  adjuncts,  he  might  further  perfect  his  invention, 
and  so  bring  it  more  favorably  before  the  public,  and  more 
extensively  into  use. 

And  he  says,  that  he  went  to  great  expense  and  trouble 
in  attempting  to  adapt  and  introduce  his  invention  to  the 
running  part  of  carriages  for  common  roads ;  and  that  in 
order  to  accomplish  that,  he  was  obliged  not  only  to  make 
boxes  for  the  carriage  axles,  but  also  to  make  axles  them- 
selves, fitted  and  adapted  to  his  boxes,  so  that  the  whole 
thing,  with  its  adjuncts,  might  be  perfect,  and  not  in  any 
respect  fail  by  reason  of  the  ignorance  or  want  of  skill  of 
others  who  might  make  boxes  and  axles  ill-fitted  and 
adapted  to  each  other,  and  ill-constructed  for  the  purposes 
desired.  That  his  object  was  to  present  a  thing  not  only 
useful  and  valuable,  but  to  present  it  in  the  most  perfectly 
useful  manner  for  practical  operation,  especially  as  he  had 
known  many  a  good  thing  to  fail  of  success  through  want 
of  sufficient  care  and  skill  in  the  first  experimental  trials. 
That  he  spent  more  upon  this  matter  than  he  otherwise 
would  have  done,  because  he  well  believed  that  the  inven- 
tion was,  in  fact,  so  useful  and  valuable  for  the  purposes 
of  application  to  common  carriages,  that  if  he  could  once 
succeed  in  introducing  it  into  use  among  carriage  makers, 
it  would  come  into  general  demand,  and  would  thus  be- 
come to  him  a  source  of  great  profit.  And  he  says,  that 
although  his  opinion  of  the  utility  and  value  of  the  in- 
vention, as  so  applied,  did  not  change,  he  found  that  in- 


27 


asmucli  as  there  was  no  such  pressing  necessity  of  its  use 
for  that  purpose,  as  there  was  in  the  case  of  railroad  cars 
and  heavy  machinery,  he  should  be  disappointed  in  the 
demand  which  he  anticipated,  and  would  only  add  to  his 
losses,  already  heavy,  by  continuing  the  manufactory  of 
carriage  work,  especially  as  it  would  require  more  time, 
travel,  and  expense,  to  introduce  it  further  to  the  per- 
sonal notice  of  carriage  makers,  than  he  could  afford  to 
spare. 

And  he  says,  that  his  foundry  and  workshop,  up  to  the 
fall  of  1846,  aforesaid,  when  he  abandoned  them,  were  a 
source  of  expense  and  loss.  But  he  says  that  he  kept  up 
the  said  foundry  and  workshop,  and  continued  at  work 
with  the  hope  and  confident  expectation  that  his  invention 
once  introduced  and  known,  he  should  then  begin  to  reap 
his  reward. 

And  he  says,  that  throughout  all  this  time  he  found  it 
necessary,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  to  make  and  give 
away  work,  or  to  sell  it  at  small  prices,  and  to  make  great 
personal  exertions  to  bring  his  invention  into  notice  and 
use. 

And  he  says,  that  in  1844  and  1845  he  was  engaged  in 
an  expensive  suit  at  law  against  the  Buffalo  Steam  En- 
gine Company,  which  was  finally  tried  at  Canandaigua,  in 
the  State  of  New  York.  That  his  expenses  in  carrying 
on  the  suit,  and  in  preparing  for  trial,  and  trying  the 
same,  were  very  large  and  heavy.  That  the  suit  termi- 
nated in  his  favor,  the  jury  returning  a  verdict  for  him  of 
forty-five  hundred  dollars ;  but  that  at  the  intercession  of 


28 


some  of  his  own  witnesses  and  friends,  and  with  the  ad- 
vice of  counsel,  as  he  wished  rather  to  sustain  his  patent 
than  to  recover  damages,  he  was  induced  to  settle  with 
said  Company,  upon  their  paying  a  small  amount. 

And  he  begs  leave  to  refer  to  the  copies  of  letters  and 
correspondence  regarding  said  suit,  annexed  to  this  peti- 
tion ;  as  also  to  a  printed  report  of  a  trial  in  England, 
where  his  patent  was  triumphantly  sustained,  which  he 
begs  to  submit  for  consideration. 

And  he  says,  that  another  suit  was  commenced  against 
the  Buffalo  and  Attica  Railroad  Company ;  but  that  the 
said  Company  settled  the  same  without  a  trial. 

And  he  says,  that  one  other  suit  was  commenced  against 
the  Boston  Mill  Dam  Company ;  but  the  same  was  by 
them  compromised  and  settled  without  a  trial. 

And  he  says,  that  late  in  the  fall  of  1846  he  aban- 
doned his  manufactory ;  but  that  he  continued  as  dili- 
gent as  he  could  well  be  in  pushing  his  said  invention, 
and  in  securing  to  himself  a  remuneration  therefor ;  but 
that  as  the  period  of  his  patent  drew  near  its  close,  he 
did  not  feel  authorized  to  risk  the  little  he  had  acquired ; 
and  besides  that,  during  the  last  two  or  three  years,  his 
bodily  health  has  been  more  infirm,  and  he  has  felt  un- 
able to  enter  into  any  controversies  that  might  arise  re- 
garding his  rights,  and  to  urge  the  payment  of  what  is 
actually  his  due,  or  to  go  far  to  urge  the  adoption  or  sale 
of  his  patent,  or  of  any  rights  or  licenses  thereunder. 

And  he  says,  that  the  idea  of  procuring  an  extension 
of  his  said  patent  is  only  recently  entertained.     TLat  he 


29 


so  well  knew  the  inestimable  value  and  usefulness  thereof, 
and  he  may  say,  the  absolute  necessity  of  the  invention  to 
machinery  life,  that  he  hoped  he  should  reap  a  fair  reward 
for  what  he  had  so  well  done ;  but  he  had  been  grievously 
disappointed. 

And  he  says,  that  he  cannot  hesitate  to  affirm,  with 
the  utmost  positiveness,  that  all  the  remuneratien  he  has 
received  from  his  said  patent,  is  totally  inadequate  to  the 
great  usefulness,  value,  and  importance  of  his  invention 
to  the  public,  although  he  has  used  his  best  endeavors  to 
bring  it  into  general  use,  and  to  derive  a  sufficient  remu- 
neration therefrom. 


AFFIDAVITS 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   WILLIAM   RAYMOND   LEE, 

Late  Superintendent  of  the  Boston  and  Providence  Rail- 
road, and  President  of  Vermont  Central,  Rutland 
and  Burlington,  and  Ogdensburg  Railroads. 

I,  William  Raymond  Lee,  of  Boston,  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  on  oath,  depose  and  say, —  That  I  am  a 
Civil  Engineer  'by  profession,  and  have  been,  and  am  still, 
Superintendent  of  the  "Boston  and  Providence  Railroad, 
which  appointment  I  have  held  since  July  1st,  A.  D.  1835. 
That  I  am  well  acquainted  with  Mr.  Isaac  Babbitt,  in- 
ventor and  patentee  of  "an  improved  mode  of  making 
Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  and  have  been  so  during 
the  last  thirteen  or  fourteen  years.  That  I  know  him  as 
a  man  well  versed  in  practical  chemistry,  and  very  expert 
as  a  worker  in  metals.  That  I  have  often  visited  his  shop, 
and  have  personal  knowledge  that  he  has  applied  himself 
with  great  industry  and  success  in  the  pursuit  and  appli- 
cation of  the  principles  of  science  to  useful  ends  and  pur- 
poses, and  the  advancement  of  the  useful  arts. 

It  is  within  my  knowledge,  that  his  labors  have  result- 
ed in  practical  results,  particularly  beneficial  to  the  econ- 


31 


oniy  of  working  machinery,  especially  in  the  department 
of  locomotive,  marine,  and  stationary  steam-engines,  by 
the  successful  application  of  soft  metal  in  the  construc- 
tion of  bearings,  usually  called  boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudg- 
eons. About  the  year  1840,  Mr.  Babbitt  called  my  atten- 
tion to  his  improved  mode  of  constructing  these  essential 
appendages  to  rotating  machinery,  and  after  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  principles  under  which  he  claimed  to 
act,  I  was  so  well  satisfied  with  the  utility,  value,  and 
importance  of  the  invention,  that  I  determined  to  give 
him  an  opportunity,  on  the  Boston  and  Providence  Bail- 
road,  to  test  practically  its  value.  I  accordingly  did  so, 
and  had  locomotives  and  cars  fitted  up  with  his  improve- 
ment, under  his  own  direction,  he  having  prepared  the 
boxes,  and  also  the  metal,  with  which  the  cells  were  to  be 
fitted.  The  result  was  so  entirely  satisfactory  and  con- 
clusive, as  to  the  merit  of  his  improvement,  both  in  rela- 
tion to  economy  in  the  reduction  of  friction,  and  obviating 
the  heating  of  the  parts  in  contact,  that  I  at  once  pur- 
chased a  right  of  construction  and  use  from  him,  on  behalf 
of  the  Boston  and  Providence  Railroad.  The  application 
of  his  improvement  was  extended  to  all  the  machinery 
upon  the  road,  with  as  little  delay  as  possible,  and  indeed, 
much  new  work  of  the  old  description  was  removed  to 
give  place  to  Mr.  Babbitt's  improvement.  From  that  day 
to  the  present  hour,  we  have  continued  its  use  with  unin- 
terrupted success,  and  as  I  fully  believe,  greatly  to  the 
advantage  of  the  Corporation  in  a  pecuniary  view. 

This  improvement,  like  all  other  innovations  upon  exist- 


32 


ing  usages,  met  with  the  usual  opposition  and  prejudices, 
presenting  obstacles  to  a  due  award  of  praise  and  profit 
to  its  inventor,  "but  it  has  at  this  time  forced  itself  into 
public  favor  by  its  intrinsic  merits,  by  means  of  the  great 
diligence  and  perseverance  of  Mr.  Babbitt,  and  the  inter- 
est and  aid  of  some  of  his  friends  who  have  taken  an  inter- 
est in  such  matters,  as  well  as  in  his  personal  efforts.  Mr. 
Babbitt's  charges  for  the  use  of  his  invention  to  railroads 
were  very  moderate,  and  whatever  his  receipts  may  have 
been,  I  have  reasons  to  believe  that  they  were  greatly 
exhausted  in  his  anxious  efforts  to  perfect  and  introduce 
his  improvement  into  general  use,  and  in  experimenting 
upon  the  best  means  of  operating. 

From  my  knowledge  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  scientific  attain- 
ments in  the  branches  of  knowledge  to  which  I  have  al- 
luded, and  his  indefatigable  industry  in  pursuing  experi- 
ments to  determine  results,  the  value  of  his  time  and 
services  to  any  large  establishment  engaged  in  the  manu- 
facture and  application  of  metals,  chemicals,  or  composi- 
tions adapted  to  the  useful  arts,  would  be  invaluable,  and 
would  readily  command  a  high  compensation,  certainly  not 
less  than  three  thousand  dollars  per  year.  I  should  have 
added,  that  the  application  of  his  improvement  in  making 
Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons,  resulted,  as  indicated  by 
experiments  made  by  myself,  in  a  saving  of  about  fifty 
per  cent  compared  with  the  method  for  which  it  was  a 
substitute ;  and  I  am  fully  of  opinion  that  Mr.  Babbitt 
richly  deserves  an  adequate  compensation  for  the  use  of 
his  improvement,  by  its  application  to  railroad,  and  other 


Of) 


machinery,   which   shall  come   into    existence   and    use, 
after  the  expiration  of  his  present  letters  patent. 

[Signed,]  WM.  RAYMOND  LEE. 

State  of  Massachusetts. 

Suffolk,  ss.     April  20th,  1853. 
Sworn  to  before  me,  C.  Demond, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   GEORGE    S.  GRIGGS, 

Principal  Machinist  of  the  Boston  and  Providence  RaiL 
road. 

I,  George  S.  Griggs,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  on  oath 
declare  and  say, —  That  I  am  a  practical  machinist,  and 
have  been  for  many  years  engaged  in  the  construction  of 
locomotive  engines  and  machinery.  I  am  the  principal 
machinist  of  the  Boston  and  Providence  Railroad  Company, 
and  have  been  acting  in  that  capacity,  since  the  year 
eighteen  hundred  and  thirty-five,  during  which  time  I  have 
built  a  large  number  of  engines  for  said  road,  and  have 
become  thoroughly  and  practically  acquainted  with  the 
running  of  locomotives  and  cars,  and  the  several  means 
and  appliances  connected  therewith,  as  well  as  of  other 
stationary  machinery. 

I  know  Isaac  Babbitt,  the  inventor  of  "an  improved 
mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  and 


34 


have  known  him  ever  since  he  obtained  a  patent  therefor. 
He  is  a  man  of  great  practical  skill,  and  scientific  know- 
ledge as  a  worker  in  metals,  as  well  as  a  man  of  great 
energy  and  perseverance,  and  of  unimpeachable  integrity 
and  truthfulness.  I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  practical 
effects  of  his  invention,  and  of  its  uses  as  applied  to  mov- 
ing and  stationary  machinery,  and  can  certify  to  its  value 
and  importance.  Before  Mr.  Babbitt's  invention,  great 
and  constant  difficulties  and  embarrassments  were  found 
attendant  upon  the  running  of  locomotive  and  marine 
engines,  and,  indeed,  of  all  machinery,  where  there  was 
any  considerable  degree  of  strain  or  power,  and  wherever 
a  high  rate  of  speed  was  desired.  This  was  owing  to 
the  constant  heating  and  abrasion  of  the  axles,  gudgeons, 
crank-shafts,  and  pins,  and  connecting-rods,  which  was  so 
constant  and  so  great,  as  to  render  the  operations  of  the 
machinery  uncertain  and  unreliable,  and  to  subject  it  to 
frequent  accident,  and  more  frequent  repairs.  The  amount 
of  lubricating  material  was  also  necessarily  very  great, 
and  the  wear  and  tear  rapid  and  expensive. 

Aside  from  the  actual  expense  of  repairs,  and  of  the 
various  projects  resorted  to  to  prevent  heating  and  friction, 
the  capacity  of  machinery  was  much  limited,  and  the 
anxiety  and  constant  care  requisite  to  keep  it  in  proper 
order,  was  a  source  of  very  great  trouble. 

Mr.  Babbitt's  invention  at  once  met  and  overcame,  in  a 
great  measure,  the  above  mentioned  objections.  It  greatly 
diminished  the  friction  of  the  running  parts  of  machinery 
where  it  was  applied.    It  effectually  prevented  the  heating 


and  abrasion  of  the  parts,  and  occasioned  a  very  large 
saving  in  lubrication  and  repairs,  while  it  gave  regularity 
and  certainty  to  the  operations  of  engines  and  machinery, 
and  furnished  infinite  relief  to  the  anxiety  and  care  of 
the  engineer  and  machinist.  By  means  of  this  invention, 
the  capacity  of  machinery  was  greatly  increased,  and  not 
only  would  such  machinery  accomplish  more  by  being 
enabled  to  expand  upon  the  load,  or  the  thing  to  be  accom- 
plished, a  large  portion  of  the  power  that  had  been  pre- 
viously used  to  overcome  the  friction,  but  it  was  enabled 
to  move  with  vastly  more  rapidity,  and  certainty,  and 
safety. 

The  value  of  the  invention  cannot  be  computed.  The 
mere  saving  in  expense,  as  connected  with  the  means  of 
lubrication  and  of  repairs,  is  immense.  I  do  not  see  how 
engines  and  machinery  of  magnitude,  and  high  rates  of 
speed,  could  now  be  run  without  it,  or  something  equiva- 
lent to  it.  It  has  come  to  be  well  nigh,  if  not  quite,  a 
necessity  in  mechanics. 

I  know  somewhat  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  efforts  and  labors 
to  introduce  his  said  invention  into  use.  It  was  a  long 
time  before  he  could  overcome  the  prejudices  of  even  prac- 
tical mechanics,  and  he  often  times  finally  succeeded  in  so 
doing,  only  by  stealthily  introducing  his  invention  into 
actual  use,  and  then  pointing  to  its  triumphant  action. 

His  efforts  and  exertions  were  incessant,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  establish  a  manufactory,  and  himself  make 
boxes,  lined  with  soft  metal  and  finished  for  use,  and 
then  give  them,  in  many  instances,  away,  before  he  could 


36 


persuade  those  actually  most  interested  in  the  result,  of 
the  great  practical  utility  of  the  invention.  His  difficul- 
ties and  discouragements  were  great,  and  such  as  would 
have  overborne  a  man  of  less  activity  and  perseverance. 

I  do  not  believe  Mr.  Babbitt  has  ever  realized  a  remu- 
neration at  all  adequate  to  the  vast  value,  utility,  and 
importance  of  his  invention,  although  I  believe  that  he 
has  exercised  all  due  diligence,  effort,  and  care,  to  secure 
to  himself  a  proper  reward. 

Mr.  Babbitt's  scientific  knowledge  and  practical  skill, 
would  have  entitled  him  to  large  compensation  for  his 
time  and  services  during  the  last  fourteen  years.  I  think 
he  might  have  readily  commanded  from  two  thousand  to 
twenty-five  hundred  dollars  a  year,  during  that  time. 

His  invention  should  entitle  him  to  a  fortune,  and  that 
he  has  not  realized  from  it  a  sum  at  all  adequate  to  its 
value  and  importance,  has  been  from  no  fault  of  his. 
Were  the  invention  totally  lost,  millions  of  money  might 
well  be  spent  in  restoring  it,  if  it  could  not  be  otherwise 
obtained.  Two  hundred  thousand  dollars  would  be  no 
more  than  a  fair  remuneration  to  its  inventor,  in  my 
judgment.  I  have  no  interest  in  the  patent,  nor  do  I  ex- 
pect to  have. 

[Signed,]  GEOEGE   S.  GBIGGS. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 
Suffolk,  ss.     April  18th,  1S53. 
Sworn  to  before  me, 
•Joel  P.  Bishop, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


37 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   CHABLES  G.  GKEENE,  Esq. 

Editor  of   the  Boston  Post,  and  Naval  Officer  of  the 
Port  of  Boston. 

I,  Charles  G.  Greene,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  Editor 
of  the  Boston  Post,  on  oath  depose  and  say, —  That  I  have 
known  Mr.  Isaac  Babbitt,  Patentee  and  inventor  of  "an 
improved  mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons," 
for  many  years.  He  is  a  man  of  great  industry,  skill,  and 
integrity,  and  his  statements  may  at  all  times  be  fully 
relied  upon.  His  ability  as  a  scientific  and  practical 
worker  in  metals,  is  undoubted,  and  his  time  and  services 
in  that  behalf,  would  readily  command  the  highest  prices. 
His  inventive  genius  and  perseverance  are  very  great. 
From  the  knowledge  I  have  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  invention,  I 
believe  it  to  be  one  of  vast  utility  and  value  to  the  public, 
and  in  the  running  of  all  heavy  machinery,  and  in  all 
■cases  where  great  speed,  combined  with  safety,  is  sought 
for,  it  has  come  to  be  a  necessary  concomitant.  It  is 
believed  to  be  invaluable  in  preventing  the  heating  and 
wearing  of  the  running  parts  of  machinery,  axles,  gudg- 
eons, connecting-rods  and  crank-pins,  and  in  saving  of  ex- 
pense in  the  matter  of  repairs  and  lubricating  materials. 
As  a  means  of  promoting  the  safety  of  the  lives  and 
limbs  of  passengers,  in  rail-cars,  and  steam-vessels,  and 
reliability  of  the  operations  of  steam  machinery,  it  is  of 
the  highest  importance.  I  believe  Mr.  Babbitt  to  have 
used  all  due  diligence  to  bring  his  invention  into  general 
notice  and  use ;  and  to  obtain  a  suitable  reward  therefor. 
4 


38 


Considering  the  value,  usefulness,  and  importance  of  the 
invention,  according  to  the  knowledge  I  have,  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  Mr.  Babbitt  has  by  no  means  realized  a  re- 
muneration adequate  thereto.  The  patent,  in  my  judg- 
ment, is  one  eminently  worthy  of  being  extended,  and 
Mr.  Babbitt  is  a  man  as  eminently  worthy  of  receiving 
the  extension. 

[Signed,]  CHABLES   G.  GREENE. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 
Suffolk,  ss.     March  29th,  1853. 
Sworn  to  before  me,  A.  B.  Ely, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


AFFIDAVIT   OE   HON.  BUEUS   CHOATE, 
Of  Boston. 

I,  Bufus  Choate,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  Esquire,  on 
oath  depose  and  say, —  That  I  know  Isaac  Babbitt,  the 
Patentee  of  ''an  improved  mode  of  making  Boxes  for 
Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  and  have  known  him  for  several 
years.  He  is  a  man  of  great  skill  as  a  practical  and 
scientific  worker  in  metalsj  and  of  great  industry,  and 
unimpeachable  integrity,  and  any  statements  made  by 
him,  may  be  fully  relied  upon  as  true. 


39 


I  was  on  the  committee  on  Naval  Affairs,  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  in  1842,  to  whom  was  referred  the  matter 
of  authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  purchase  for 
the  government,  the  right  to  use  for  government  purposes, 
Mr.  Babbitt's  patent,  and  presented  the  report  of  said 
committee.  I  believe  that  the  printed  copy  of  the  said 
report,  with  the  documents  and  letters  therein  referred 
to,  contained  in  a  little  book,  entitled  "  American  and 
English  Reports,  Eeferences,  and  Certificates,  concerning 
the  Patent  Box,  lined  with  soft  metal,  invented  by  Isaac 
Babbitt,  printed  for  the  patentee,  Boston,  Oakes  &  Solo- 
mons, Stationers,  20  State  Street,  1848,"  which  I  am 
informed  is  to  be  submitted  with  said  Babbitt's  petition, 
for  an  extension  of  his  said  Patent,  is  a  true  copy  of  said 
report,  and  documents,  and  letters. 

From  my  examination  of  the  subject,  I  believe  the  in- 
vention is  one  of  very  great  value,  utility,  and  importance 
to  the  public  ;  that,  in  fact,  it  is  now  a  necessary  thing  in 
all  machinery  of  any  magnitude  or  power.  I  would  re- 
spectfully refer  to  the  above  mentioned  reports  relating  to 
this  thing. 

Mr.  Babbitt  has  used  great  diligence  and  effort  to 
bring  his  invention  into  general  use,  and  to  secure  to  him- 
self a  remuneration  therefor ;  but  he  has  labored  under  dis- 
advantages, during  a  great  part  of  the  time,  which  have 
prevented  him,  as  I  fully  believe,  from  realizing  a  remu- 
neration at  all  adequate  to  the  vast  usefulness,  value,  and 
importance  of  the  invention,  to  the  advancement  of  me- 
chanical facilities,  and  the  mechanic  arts.     In  my  judg- 


40 


inent,  an  extension  is  due  to  Mr.  Babbitt  upon  every  prior 
ciple  of  law  and  justice. 

[Signed,]  KUEUS   CHOATE. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 
Suffolk,  ss.     April  1st,  1853. 
Sworn  to  before  me,  A.  B.  Ely, 
Justice  of  the  Peace, 


AEEIDAVIT  OF  NOAH  BUTTS, 
Engineer  of  Charlestown  Navy  Yard. 

I,  Noah  Butts,  of  Charlestown,  in  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, on  oath  depose  and  say, —  That  I  am  Engineer  of 
the  Navy  Yard  of  the  United  States,  at  Charlestown 
aforesaid,  and  I  have  the  care  of  all  the  engines  in  said 
yard.  I  have  been  connected  with  said  yard,  and  the 
care  of  said  engines,  for  about  twenty  years.  I  know  Mi\ 
Isaac  Babbitt,  inventor  and  patentee  of  "an  improved 
mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  and  I 
have  known  him  for  many  years.  He  is  a  man  of  great 
skill  and  knowledge  as  a  practical  and  scientific  worker  in 
metals,  and  of  great  industry  and  integrity.  In  my  opin- 
ion, he  could  have  commanded  the  highest  salary  and  prices 
for  his  time  and  services  during  the  last  fourteen  years. 
Any  statement  made  by  him,  may  be  fully  relied  upon  as 
true. 


41 


I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  said  invention  of  Mr. 
Babbitt,  and  the  practical  working  and  importance  there- 
of. I  consider  it  to  be  of  really  incalculable  value,  and 
one  which  could  hardly  be  dispensed  with  by  machinists 
and  engineers.  It  occasions  a  very  great  saving  in  wear 
and  tear,  and  in  the  use  of  lubricating  materials,  and 
prevents  the  heating  and  abrasion  of  the  journals,  axles, 
and  crank-pins. 

I  was  at  the  said  Navy  Yard,  at  the  time  when  the 
United  States  Steam  Frigate  Mississippi  was  first  brought 
hither,  and  know  the  fact  that  her  main  shafts  were  lifted 
for  the  purpose  of  putting  in  Mr.  Babbitt's  invention. 
Before  said  invention  was  applied  to  said  steam  frigate, 
great  complaints  were  made  of  the  workings  of  her  ma- 
chinery, and  the  uncertainty  of  her  operations,  so  that 
it  was  found  necessary  to  adopt  said  invention  of  said 
Babbitt,  in  connection  with  said  machinery.  Since  said 
invention  was  applied  to  said  steamer,  I  have  heard  no 
complaints  made.  Wherever  there  is  much  wear  or  strain, 
or  wherever  a  high  rate  of  speed  is  required  in  steam 
engines  or  machinery,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  invention 
of  Mr.  Babbitt  has  become  to  be  almost,  if  not  quite,  a 
necessity. 

Mr.  Babbitt,  I  believe,  used  very  great  diligence,  and 
pains,  and  care,  to  introduce  his  said  invention  into  gen- 
eral use,  and  to  bring  it  into  notice,  and  for  a  long  time 
labored  under  great  discouragements  and  disadvantages 
in  so  doing.  The  success  which  he  had,  was  owing  to  his 
great  perseverance  and  constant  exertions.  I  could  not 
40 


42 


well  estimate  what  would  be  an  adequate  remuneration 
for  such  an  invention ;  but  I  believe  that  Mr.  Babbitt  has 
used  all  due  diligence  in  his  efforts  to  acquire  such  re- 
muneration, and  for  an  invention  of  such  incalculable  util- 
ity, value,  and  importance,  he  is  entitled  to  the  highest 
possible  reward.  I  believe  his  remuneration  to  have  been 
such,  and  so  small,  as  will  fairly  and  justly  entitle  him  to 
an  extension  of  his  patent  aforesaid,  and  in  my  judgment, 
he  is  every  way  worthy  of  such  extension.  I  have  no 
interest  in  said  patent,  otherwise  than  that  I  should  not 
be  willing  to  do  without  the  right  to  use  it  in  the  engines 
under  my  care,  where  we  have  used  it  these  years. 
[Signed,]  NOAH  BUTTS. 

State  of  Massachusetts. 

Suffolk,  ss.     April  11th,  1853. 
Sworn  to  before  me,  A.  B..Ely, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


fflje  Hnitcb  States  patent  ©ffice. 

To  all  'persons  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  Greeting  ;■ 

This  is  to  certify,  that  the  annexed  are  true  copies 
from  the  Files  of  this  Office. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I,  Charles  Mason,  Commissioner 
of  Patents,  have  caused  the  seal  of  the  Patent  Office  to 
"be  hereunto  affixed,  this  sixteenth  day  of  September,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
fifty-three,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States 
the  seventy-eighth, 

Sj  s  e  a  l  .  »  CHARLES   MASOK. 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   GEORGE  DARRACOTT, 

Late   Agent   and  Engineer  of  the   Boston   Gas  Light 
Company. 

I,  George  Darracott,  of  Boston,  in  the  State  of  Mass- 
achusetts, on  oath  declare  and  say, —  That  I  have  been 
for  many  years,  and  until  recently,  the  agent  and  engineer 
of  the  Boston  Gas  Light  Company.  That  I  was  educated 
as  a  mechanician,  and  am  well  acquainted  with  machi- 


u 


nery,  both  as  regards  its  scientific  principles,  and  its 
modes  of  operation. 

It  is  well  known  to  every  one  who  is  acquainted  with 
the  history  of  the  progress  of  machinery,  that  wherever 
the  parts  of  a  machine  are  very  heavy,  or  where  there  is 
much  wear  and  strain,  and  especially  if  the  motions  be 
rapid,  it  has  been  found  exceedingly  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible, to  discover  and  apply  any  kind  of  lubrication  to 
the  bearings,  so  as  to  prevent  excessive  friction,  heating, 
and  abrasion  of  the  parts,  thereby  causing  injury,  delay, 
expense,  and  anxiety. 

It  has  long  been  considered  a  disiratum  to  discover 
some  lubricating  substance  or  material,  or  amalgamation 
of  materials,  for  the  lining  of  boxes,  journals,  and  the 
rubbing  parts  of  machinery,  which  would  prevent  heating 
and  abrasion. 

This  desideratum,  Mr.  Isaac  Babbitt,  after  a  series  of 
experiments,  succeeded  in  discovering  or  inventing ;  and 
in  his  letters  patent  he  describes  it  as  "  an  improved 
mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons." 

I  have  been  acquainted  with  Mr.  Isaac  Babbitt,  pa- 
tentee of  the  above  invention,  for  many  years.  He  is  a 
man  of  great  skill  in  the  application  of  the  principles  of 
science  to  manufactures  ;  and  he  has  been  long  a  profound 
investigator  of  the  nature,  laws,  qualities,  and  capacities 
of  metals,  as  well  as  an  eminently  successful  practical 
and  scientific  worker  in  metals.  He  is  well  known  as  a 
man  of  great  integrity  and  truthfulness ;  and  his  state- 
ments may  be  fully  believed.     He  is  also  a  man  of  great 


45 


industry  and  perseverance,  and  the  public  are  much  in- 
debted to  him  as  regards  the  advancements  of  science  and 
the  mechanic  arts. 

His  efforts  to  introduce  his  improvements  in  boxes  for 
axles  and  gudgeons,  were  continued  for  many  years  after 
the  invention,  at  great  sacrifices  on  his  part,  by  adver- 
tisements, by  gifts  and  presents,  by  personal  attention, 
and  expensive  manufactures,  and  by  devoting,  in  many 
instances,  gratuitously,  his  stock  and  his  labor  for  the 
purpose  of  getting  people  to  try  his  invention.  Tor  a 
long  time,  he  was  compelled  to  be  at  the  expense  of  get- 
ting up  and  maintaining  a  manufactory,  that  he  might 
furnish  his  invention  ready  made,  and  fitted  for  use ;  and 
he  manufactured  articles  embracing  his  said  invention, 
and  gave  them  away,  and  sold  them  at  less  than  cost,  in 
the  belief  that  the  time  would  come  when  he  should  be 
remunerated. 

Following  this  course  with  the  confidence  of  a  discoverer, 
and  with  the  energy  and  perseverance  of  a  man  convinced 
of  the  intrinsic  value  of  his  invention,  and  determined  to 
rise  or  fall  with  its  success,  he  at  times  became  almost 
bankrupt  in  his  finances,  and  discouraged  in  his  efforts  ; 
but  still  he  persevered,  until  at  last  he  succeeded  in  estab- 
lishing the  utility  of  his  invention,  and  in  getting  it  in- 
troduced into  different  parts  of  the  country. 

But  this  being  done,  a  great  number  of  persons  made 
use  of  the  invention  without  his  knowledge,  and  without 
right ;  and  many  have  used  it  in  such  a  way  as  to  afford 
no  compensation  to  Mr.  Babbitt,  without  his  engaging  in 


46 


expensive  suits  at  law.  But  from  this  he  has  been  de- 
terred, alike  by  his  peaceable  disposition,  and  by  his  un- 
willingness to  embark  what  little  means  he  has  acquired 
upon  the  sea  of  litigation. 

Thus,  the  time  limited  for  the  duration  of  his  patent 
is  about  expiring,  and  he  has  not  received  a  compensa- 
tion at  all  adequate  to  the  value  and  importance  of  his 
invention,  although  he  has  used  all  due  diligence  and 
efforts  to  secure  to  himself  such  compensation. 

I  was  knowing  to  many  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  earlier  efforts 
to  introduce  his  invention  into  use,  and  I  was  induced, 
from  my  own  conviction  of  the  actual  intrinsic  value  and 
usefulness  of  the  thing,  as  well  as  from  my  personal  re- 
gard for  Mr.  Babbitt,  as  a  man  of  great  worth  of  char- 
acter, to  aid  him  somewhat  in  persuading  others  to  try  his 
invention,  and  to  test  its  utility  by  actual  practical  use. 
It  was  with  great  difficulty  that  those  to  whom  the  inven- 
tion has  proved  to  be  of  the  greatest  benefit,  could,  at 
first,  be  induced  to  give  it  a  fair  trial,  and  their  preju- 
dices were  overcome  only  after  great  solicitation  and 
perseverance,  and  after  actual  trial  had  convinced  them 
of  the  groundlessness  of  their  objections.  It  was  only  as 
a  personal  favor  to  myself,  that  one  of  the  railroad  cor- 
porations in  Boston,  could  be  prevailed  upon  to  try  Mr. 
Babbitt's  invention,  even  to  a  small  extent,  and  yet,  after 
that  corporation  had  finally  purchased,  for  a  small  sum, 
the  right  to  use  said  invention,  the  superintendent  thereof 
himself  informed  me,  that  he  would  not  be  deprived  of  the 
invention,  and  the  rk-ht  to  use  it,  for  $20,000 ;  nor,  in- 


47 


deed,  for  any  sum  that  could  be  named,  of  such  vast 
value  did  he  consider  it.  I  also  happened,  without,  how- 
ever, the  knowledge  at  the  time  of  Mr.  Babbitt,  to  be 
instrumental  in  inducing  the  Hon.  Mr.  Upshur  to  con- 
clude the  contract  with  Mr.  Babbitt,  by  which  the  United 
States  Government  acquired  the  right  to  use  his  invention 
for  the  sum  of  $20,000.  If  government  could  have 
acquired  the  right  only  by  paying  a  much  larger  sum,  it 
would  have  been  well  warranted  in  so  doing.  Mr.  Bab- 
bitt's labors  were  unremitting,  and  it  was  only  by  indom- 
itable perseverance  that  he  succeeded  in  overcoming  the 
obstacles  in  his  way. 

I  know  of  no  invention  so  perfectly  simple  in  its  nature, 
and  apparently  so  obvious  when  once  tried,  which  is  of 
so  great  importance  in  the  running  of  all  machinery, 
especially  where  rapid  motion  is  required,  as  on  railroads, 
steamboats,  &c,  and  where  so  great  a  saving  is  made  at 
so  little  cost  *  yet  this  had  never  been  done,  until  Mr. 
Babbitts  inventive  mind  made  it  practicable. 

I  have  been  requested  to  state  my  opinion  in  answer  to 
the  following  questions : 

1st.  What  is  the  value  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  time  and 
services,  annually  ? 

2d.  What  would  be  an  adequate  remuneration  to  Mr. 
Babbitt,  considering  the  value,  usefulness,  and  impor- 
tance of  the  invention,  and  the  time,  labor,  and  expense 
he  has  devoted  to  it,  and  its  introduction  into  use  ? 

In  answer  to  the  first  I  should  say,  that  taking  his 
knowledge  of  science,  and   his  practical    skill  into  the 


48 


account,  his  services  for  the  last  fourteen  years,  were  well 
worth,  annually,  at  least  two  thousand  to  twenty-five 
hundred  dollars. 

In  answer  to  the  second ;  the  value,  utility,  and  import- 
ance of  the  invention  cannot  be  computed,  being  actually 
incalculably  great.  It  is  difficult  to  estimate  what  would 
be  a  proper  remuneration  to  the  inventor ;  but  I  should 
say,  that  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars  would  not  be  too  large.  An  invention  of 
such  importance,  value,  and  usefulness,  should  bring  to 
the  inventor  the  largest  remunerative  return,  and  that 
largest  return  could  not  more  than  compensate  such  a  man 
as  Mr.  Babbitt  for  all  his  labor,  and  anxiety,  and  his  ex- 
penses, and  inventive  genius,  and  skill.  I  am  in  no  way 
interested  in  said  patent,  nor  do  I  expect  to  be.  In  my 
judgment,  an  extension  of  the  patent  is  justly  and  fairly 
due  to  Mr.  Babbitt. 

GEO.  DARRACOTT. 
State  of  Massachusetts. 

Suffolk,  ss.     April  27,  1853. 
Sworn  to  before  me,  C.  Demond, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


49 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   CHAELES   S.  STOEROW, 

Formerly  Superintendent  Engineer  of  the  Boston  and 
Lowell  Railroad,  Agent  of  the  Essex  Company,  Law- 
rence, Mass.,  and  present  Mayor  of  that  city. 

I,  Charles  S.  Storrow,  of  Lawrence,  in  the  State  of 
Massachusetts,  on  oath  depose  and  say, —  That  I  have 
been  largely  engaged,  for  many  years,  in  works  of  Civil 
Engineering,  and  connected  with  the  management  of  ma- 
chine shops.  That  I  became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Isaac 
Babbitt's  improved  mode  of  making  or  lining  Boxes  for 
Axles  and  Gudgeons,  soon  after  its  first  introduction. 
That  I  purchased  the  right  to  use  it  for  the  Boston  and 
Lowell  Bailroad,  of  which  I  was  the  engineer  and  gen- 
eral agent.  And  that  several  years  subsequently,  I  also 
purchased  it  for  the  Essex  Company,  at  Lawrence,  owners 
of  an  extensive  machine  shop ;  of  which  Company  I  have 
been,  and  still  am,  the  general  agent.  That  I  have  al- 
ways considered,  and  do  consider,  Mr.  Babbitt's  improve- 
ment to  be  one  of  great  practical  utility ;  and  that  in 
neither  of  these  two  cases  was  I  called  upon  to  pay  more 
than  what  seemed  to  me  a  moderate  and  reasonable  com- 
pensation for  the  time  and  expense  bestowed  by  Mr.  Bab- 
bitt upon  its  invention  and  introduction. 

CHAS.  S.  STOEROW. 
Boston,  May  9th,  1S53. 

State  of  Massachusetts. 

Suffolk,  ss.     May  9th,  1853. 
Sworn  to  before  me,  A.  B.  Ely, 
5  Justice  of  the  Peace. 


50 


AFFIDAVIT  OF   S.  V.  MEEMOK, 

Builder  of  the  United  States  Steam  Frigates  Mississippi 
and  Missouri,  Philadelphia. 

I,  Samuel  V.  Merrick,  of  Philadelphia,  in  the  County 
of  Philadelphia,  and  State  of  Pennsylvania,  being  duly 
sworn,  do  hereby  depose  and  say, —  I  am  a  manufacturer 
of  Marine  and  other  Steam  Engines ;  in  which  occupation 
I  have  been  engaged  for  sixteen  years.  I  am  well  ac- 
quainted with  Isaac  Babbitt's  Patent  Gudgeon  Box  and 
Soft  Metal  Lining,  and  have  used  the  same  upon  moving 
bearings,  for  the  last  ten  years,  or  thereabouts. 

This  metal  has  been  long  enough  in  use  to  test  its 
merits,  and  I  consider  it  a  most  valuable  improvement  in 
the  construction  of  moving  machinery. 

1st.     It  effects  a  diminution  of  friction. 

2d.  a  considerable  saving  of  oil. 

3d.  an  economy  in  the  original  construction 

of  bearings. 

4th.  a  saving  in  repairs. 

I  am  personally  acquainted  with  Mr.  Babbitt,  and  be- 
lieve that  he  has  used  due  diligence  to  introduce  his  in- 
vention into  use.  He  is  a  skilful  worker  in  metals,  and, 
in  my  opinion,  could  have  commanded  a  high  price  for  his 
services  as  such,  during  the  past  fourteen  years. 

It  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  value  of  this  invention, 
nor  am  I  advised  of  the  amount  of  compensation  already 
realized.  It  was  undoubtedly  new  at  the  time  it  was 
patented,  and  has  since  become  an  almost  indispensable 


51 


adjunct  to  many  kinds  of  heavy  machinery ;  and,  in  my 
judgment,  the  time  ought,  in  justice  to  the  inventor,  to 
be  extended. 

I  am  in  no  way  interested,  neither  do  I  expect  to  be, 
in  the  patent  or  its  extension,  except  that  I  am  the  owner 
of  a  right  to  use  the  same. 

Furthermore  this  deponent  saith  not. 

S.  V.  MEEEICK. 
Philadelphia,  May  6th,  1853. 

Sworn  and  subscribed  before  me,  at  Philadelphia,  this 
7th  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1853. 

Jno.  B.  Kenney, 
Alderman  and  Justice  of  the  Peace. 


AFFIDAVIT  OF   CHAELES  W.  COPELAND, 

Mechanical  Engineer,  and  Manufacturer  of  Marine 
Engines  of  the  largest  class.  Appointed  Engineer  of 
the  United  States  Navy,  and  declined.     New  York. 

I,  Charles  W.  Copeland,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  by 
profession  a  Mechanical  Engineer,  and  for  the  last  twenty- 
one  or  twenty-two  years,  engaged  in  various  capacities  in 
the  manufacture  and  management  of  steam  and  other 
machinery,  have  also  been  largely  engaged  in  the  con- 
struction of  marine  engines  of  the  largest  class. 

I  hereby  certify,  that  I  have  been  acquainted  with  the 
anti-attrition  metal  of  Isaac  Babbitt,  from  its  first  intro- 


52 


duction.  That  when  first  my  attention  was  called  to  it, 
I  was  quite  skeptical  as  to  its  value ;  but  at  the  earnest 
solicitation  of  the  inventor,  consented  to  give  it  a  trial. 
I  did  so  by  applying  it  to  journals  which  had  given  great 
trouble  by  heating,  and  to  my  great  surprise,  found  that 
after  being  in  use  a  short  time,  it  had  entirely  overcome 
the  difficulty,  and  that  there  was  no  further  trouble  from 
that  cause. 

Since  that  time,  I  have  almost  invariably  made  use  of 
it,  and  always  with  the  same  good  results. 

In  regard  to  the  value  of  the  invention,  and  its  intro- 
duction to  the  public,  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  make 
even  an  approximation,  in  dollars  and  cents ;  but  the  fol- 
lowing statement  may  give  an  idea  of  it. 

1st.  It  is  valuable  to  the  designer  and  constructor  of 
machinery,  as  by  its  use  he  is,  in  many  cases,  enabled  to 
dispense  with  the  expensive  composition  boxes  for  jour- 
nals ;  he  is  also  enabled,  when  necessity  requires  it,  to 
use  a  journal  of  very  limited  bearing,  much  more  so  than 
without  its  use. 

2d.  It  is  of  great  value  to  the  proprietor  of  the  ma- 
chinery, not  only  in  the  economy  of  oil,  and  other  lubri- 
cators, but  the  much  less  rapid  wear  of  the  machinery, 
repairs  required  much  less  frequently,  and  the  consequent 
loss  of  time  from  these  repairs  much  less ;  and  where 
economy  of  first  cost  of  machinery  is  important,  much 
money  can  be  saved  by  the  use  of  this  metal,  in  the  place 
of  compositions  of  copper  and  tin. 

3d.     To  the  attendant  upon  the  machinery,  it  is  very 


53 


valuable,  as  lie  is  relieved,  in  a  great  measure,  of  the 
labor  and  anxiety  which  must  ensue  where  there  is  a 
liability  of  journals  to  heat  from  the  least  negligence ;  he 
is  enabled  to  keep  the  journals  of  his  machinery  in  much 
better  condition  than  he  otherwise  could  do,  and,  of 
course,  the  friction  is  thus  reduced  to  the  minnimum; 
and  further,  by  its  use  he  can  entirely  avoid  the  necessity 
of  stopping  machinery  at  a  critical  time,  when  it  is  all 
important  it  should  not  be  stopped,  and  which  otherwise 
he  might  be  under  the  necessity  of  doing. 

I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  that  to  the  country  at  large, 
the  value  of  this  invention  has  been  many  thousand  dol- 
lars. I  think  I  may  say  not  less  than  two  or  three  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  and  when  taken  in  all  its  bearings, 
are  maich  more. 

CHAS.  W.  COPELAND. 

New  York,  May  20th,  1853. 

City  and  County  of  New  York,  ss. 

On  this  21st  day  of  May,  A.  D.,  1853,  before  me  came 
the  within  named  Charles  W.  Copeland,  who  being  by  me 
duly  sworn,  did  depose  and  say,  that  he  has  read  the 
foregoing  statement,  and  knows  the  contents  thereof,  and 
that  the  same  is  true  of  his  own  knowledge,  and  that  he 
is  not  interested  in  the  patent  for  the  anti-attrition  metal, 
or  in  the  application  for  the  extension  thereof. 

CHAS.  W.  COPELAND. 

Sworn  before  me  this  21st  day  of  May,  1853. 
Sylvester  Lay, 

Commissioner  of  Deeds. 
50 


54 

AFFIDAVIT  OF  MIEKS  COEYELL, 

Engineer  of  the  Morgan  Iron  Works,  New  York. 

I,  Miers  Coryell,  about  twenty-eight  years  old,  am  at 
present  employed  as  engineer  of  the  Morgan  Iron  "Works, 
which  employs  about  eight  hundred  men,  chiefly  in  the 
building  of  Marine  Engines,  of  the  largest  class.  I  was 
brought  up  as  a  practical  machinist,  and  have  had  good 
opportunities  of  judging  as  to  the  merit  of  various  con- 
trivances connected  with  steam  engines,  and  machinery 
generally. 

I  am  well  acquainted  with  the  anti-attrition  metal  of 
Isaac  Babbitt,  and  have  seen  it  used  and  fitted  up  con- 
tinually, during  the  last  eleven  years. 

In  the  Morgan  Iron  "Works,  it  has  been  used  exten- 
sively during  the  last  ten  years,  being  used  in  all  journals 
for  revolving  shafts. 

I  am  of  opinion  it  saves  materially  in  friction,  say 
thirty  per  cent. ;  that  shafts  wear  longer,  and  are  ren- 
dered more  safe  from  the  absence  of  wear,  and  their 
retaining  their  original  sizes ;  their  wearing  surfaces 
became  highly  polished,  and  there  is  a  material  saving 
in  oil  from  this  cause. 

I  have  known  steamships  upon  which  this  metal  has 
been  used,  to  perform  several  voyages,  embracing  several 
thousand  miles,  without  requiring  the  least  tightening 
upon  either  crank-pins  or  shaft-journals. 

In  conclusion,  I  would  state  that  I  believe  the  inven- 
tion was  new  when  patented ;  that  it  is  eminently  useful 


55 


and  practical,  saving,  yearly,  thousands  of  dollars  in  my 
branch  of  business  alone,  and  that  the  inventor  deserves 
a  liberal  remuneration  for  it. 

I  am  not  in  any  way  interested  in  the  patent,  or  in  the 
extension  thereof. 

MIEES  COEYELL. 

New  York,  May  17th,  1853. 

City  and  County  of  New  Yrork,  ss. 
On  this  seventeenth  day  of  May,  A.  D.,  1853,  before  me 
came  Miers  Coryell,  who,  being  by  me  duly  sworn,  did 
depose  and  say,  that  he  has  read  the  foregoing  statement, 
and  knows  the  contents  thereof,  and  that  the  same  is 
true  of  his  own  knowledge,  and  that  he  is  not  interested 
in  the  patent  for  the  anti-attrition  metal,  or  in  the  appli- 
cation for  the  extension  thereof. 

MIEES  COEYELL. 
Sworn  before  me  this  17th  day  of  May,  1853. 
Sylvester  Lay, 

Commissioner  of  Deeds, 


AFFIDAVIT  OF  HENEY  B.  EENWICK, 

Inspector  of  Steam  Vessels,  under  the  Act  of  Congress  of 
1852,  at  New  York,  and  late  Principal  Examiner  of 
Patents,  at  Washington. 

To  all  to  whom  it  may  concern,  be  it  known  that  I, 
Henry  B.  Eenwick,  at  present  Inspector  of  Steam  Vessel 
Machinery,  under  the  act  of  Congress,  approved  August, 


56 


1852,  and  lately  principal  examiner  of  patents,  have  for 
many  years  past  been  acquainted  with  the  contrivance 
known  as  Babbitt's  anti-attrition  metal,  which  is,  in  fact 
however,  a  method  of  supporting  a  soft  and  easily  fusible 
alloy  within  a  case  of  more  refractory  metal,  so  that  said 
contrivance,  as  a  whole,  serves  in  place  of  the  brass,  or 
bell-metal  boxes,  usually  employed  in  pillow-blocks  or 
journals. 

I  have  used  this  method  in  machinery  owned  by  my- 
self, and  have  carefully  watched  its  action  and  effects, 
and  am  now  engaged  in  building  a  feathering  paddle- 
wheel,  in  which  all  the  bearings  are  fitted  in  this  man- 
ner. The  contrivance  has,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  ex- 
tends, always  acted  to  good  advantage,  has  worn  well, 
equally,  and  at  the  same  time,  slowly ;  and  the  shafts 
revolving  therein  become  highly  polished,  almost  like 
glass,  so  that  there  is  a  very  material  saving  in  oil,  or 
other  lubricators,  in  friction,  and  in  wear  and  tear,  and 
consequently  expense  of  repairs.  I  cannot  state  the  pre- 
cise percentage  of  such  savings,  as  I  never  made  any 
accurate  experiments. 

I  also  know  that  it  effects  a  very  important  saving  in 
the  fitting  of  journals,  small  ones  especially.  In  such 
journals,  no  keys,  no  gibs,  and  no  straps  are  needed,  and 
the  brasses  are  likewise  dispensed  with.  All  that  is  done 
is  to  ream  out  the  interior  of  a  cylindrical  hole  in  the  sup- 
porting arm  or  casting,  so  that  the  interior  of  the  cavity 
has  the  largest  transverse  section ;  a  mandrel  of  the  size 
of  the  shaft  is  then  introduced,  and  the  alloy  cast  around 


67 


it.  The  mandrel  is  then  withdrawn,  and  the  journal-box 
is  complete  without  further  fitting. 

The  saving  of  each  journal,  thus  fitted,  amounts  to 
from  four  to  ten  dollars,  at  a  low  estimate.  Essentially, 
this  same  plan  is  employed  in  supporting  propeller  shafts, 
which  are  often  of  large  size,  within  the  tube,  which 
passes  through  the  dead  wood  of  the  vessel,  and  in  that 
case,  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  employ  any  other 
method.  Mr.  Babbitt's  contrivance  is  now  in  use  in  the 
largest  shops  in  New  York,  and  is  applied  successfully  to 
the  very  largest  and  heaviest  shafts,  say  fourteen  inch 
wrought  iron. 

I  do  not,  of  own  knowledge,  know  anything  of  the 
efforts  of  the  inventor  in  introducing  his  invention,  but 
judging  from  its  almost  universal  use,  both  in  shops 
which  are  paying  for  the  patent  right,  and  those  which 
are  not,  I  am  of  the  decided  impression  that  he  has  suc- 
ceeded, in  some  manner,  in  impressing  upon  machinists 
generally  the  importance  of  using  his  invention.  The 
fact  being  that  its  use,  either  with  or  without  license,  is 
almost  universal. 

I  cannot  state,  in  dollars  and  cents,  the  amount  of 
saving,  as  based  upon  the  economy  in  oil,  the  saving  in 
wear  and  tear,  in  friction,  and  in  original  expense,  when 
all  the  machines  using  it  in  the  United  States  are  taken 
into  account,  as  I  have  no  statistics  of  the  value  of  the 
machinery  employed.  I  have  heard  eminent  engineers 
value  it  at  from  one  hundred  thousand,  to  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars,  (say  one  to  two  hundred  thousand  dol- 


58 


lars,)  and  taking  its  great  utility  and  extensive  applica- 
tion into  account,  I  do  not  deem  the  latter  estimate  at  all 
unreasonable. 

Neither  do  I  know  anything  as  to  the  amount  received 
as  remuneration,  by  the  inventor ;  but  am  of  opinion  that 
if  he  has  not  received  a  sum  approaching  that  amount, 
that  the  case  presents  good  ground  for  a  favorable  decision 
upon  the  application  for  extension  now  pending. 

I  further  believe,  that  the  invention  was  new  when 
patented ;  and  am  not  in  any  way,  directly  or  indirectly, 
interested  in  the  patent  or  in  the  extension  thereof. 

HENEY  B.  KENWICK. 

New  York,  May  26,  1853. 

On  this  twenty-sixth  day  of  May,  1853,  personally 
appeared  before  the  subscriber,  a  Commissioner  of  Deeds, 
in  and  for  the  city  of  New  York,  the  above  named  Henry 
B.  Eenwick,  and  made  solemn  oath  that  the  facts  set 
forth,  and  opinions  and  statements  herein  made,  are  just 
and  true,  according  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and 
belief. 

Sylvester  Lay, 

Commissioner  of  Deeds. 


59 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   CHAKLES   H.  HASWELL, 

Late    Chief  Engineer,   and  Engineer  in   Chief  in  the 

U,  States  Navy,  and  now  Surveyor  of  Steamers  at  the 

ports  of  NewYorh,  Philadelphia,  Boston  and  Baltimore. 

New  York,  April  30,  1853. 
Regarding  the  application  and  value  of  the  anti-attri- 
tion metal  of  Isaac  Babbitt,  I  have  to  state, —  That  as  a 
Chief  Engineer,  and  as  Engineer  in  Chief  of  the  United 
States  Navy,  and  for  the  last  ten  years  as  Surveyor  of 
Steamers  for  the  ports  of  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston, 
and  Baltimore,  I  have  had  full  opportunities  of  witnessing 
both  the  operation,  and  the  effects,  of  the  use  of  this  metal. 
My  first  experience  with  it  was  in  the  United  States 
Steamers  Missouri  and  Mississippi.  The  engines  of  these 
vessels  having  been  fitted  without  it,  and  upon  their  first 
cruise,  the  journals  of  these  engines,  although  their 
engines  had  been  furnished  by  the  days'  work,  and  were 
fittted  up  in  the  best  manner  practicable,  yet  their  crank- 
pins  and  shaft-journals  heated  to  a  degree  that  seriously 
arrested  the  operation  of  the  engines,  involving  delay, 
and  a  great  expenditure  of  tallow  and  oil;  added  to 
which,  these  steamers,  being  the  first  essays  of  the  gov- 
ernment for  marine  purposes,  the  result  of  the  heating  of 
the  journals  of  the  engines  of  these  vessels  was  of  so  seri- 
ous a  feature,  that  it  created  a  prejudice  against  the 
introduction  of  steam  into  the  naval,  service,  of  so  ex- 
tended a  character,  as  almost  to  arrest  the  further  con- 
struction of  steamers.    Before  the  return  of  these  vessels 


60 


to  this  port,  in  1842,  Babbitt's  metal  was  applied  to  all 
the  journals  into  which  it  was  practicable  to  introduce 
it,  and  the  result  was  that  of  signal  success.  I  myself 
ran  the  engines  of  the  Missouri,  during  a  cruise  in  the 
West  Indies,  without  heating  a  journal.  Since  this 
period,  I  have  designed  and  directed  the  construction  of 
nineeten  marine  engines,  and  in  every  instance  I  have 
used  the  metal  of  Mr.  Babbitt ;  and  am  of  the  conviction 
that  an  engine  without  it,  is  not  fitted  with  due  regard  to 
economy  of  operation,  or  efficiency  of  action. 

As  regards  the  value  of  this  metal,  in  its  economical 
effect  to  the  owners  of  engines  and  machinery  throughout 
the  United  States,  it  is  very  difficult  for  any  one  to  arrive 
at  any  estimate  with  precision.  A  mere  exponent  of  the 
extent  of  its  utility  can  alone  be  given ;  thus,  in  my 
opinion,  it  has  saved,  since  its  first  introduction,  in  time, 
repairs,  and  lubricating  materials,  fully  two  hundred  and 
eight  thousand  dollars,  say  $208,000,  which  is  the  mod- 
erate allowance  of  only  twenty  dollars  per  annum  upon 
the  engines  of  two  hundred  steamers,  (three  hundred  and 
fifty  engines,)  and  of  ten  dollars  upon  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  locomotives  and  stationary  engines,  and  of  five  thou- 
sand dollars  for  machinery  purposes. 

CHAS.  H.  HASWELL, 

Marine  Engineer. 

City  and  County  of  New  York,  ss. 
On  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  April,  A.  D.  1853,  before 
me  came  Charles   H.  Haswell,  who,  being  by  me  duly 


61 


sworn,  did  depose  and  say,  that  he  has  read  the  foregoing 
document,  and  knows  the  contents  thereof,  and  that  the 
same  is  true  of  his  own  knowledge,  except  as  to  the  mat- 
ters and  things  which  are  therein  stated  on  information 
and  belief,  and  as  to  these  matters,  he  believes  it  to  be 
true ;  and  that  he  is  not  interested  in  the  patent  of  the 
anti-attrition  metal  of  Isaac  Babbitt,  or  in  the  applica- 
tion for  a  renewal  of  said  patent,  directly  or  indirectly. 

J.  E.  Flannigan, 
16,  Wall  Street.  Commissioner  of  Deeds. 


AFFIDAVIT  OF   CYEUS   ALGER, 
The  celebrated  Iron  Founder,  Boston,  Mass. 

I,  Cyrus  Alger,  of  Boston,  in  the  State  of  Massachu- 
setts, on  oath  declare  and  say, —  That  I  have  known  Mr. 
Isaac  Babbitt,  patentee  and  inventor  of  "an  improved 
mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  for 
many  years. 

He  is  a  man  of  rare  talent,  skill,  and  science,  as  a 
practical  worker  in  metals,  and  a  man  of  great  persever- 
ance and  energy,  and  of  undoubted  integrity.  Any  state- 
ment made  by  him  may  be  fully  relied  upon. 

I  have  some  knowledge  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  invention,  and 
have  made  use  of  it  in  my  business.  I  believe  it  to  be 
an  invention  of  very  great  utility,  value,  and  importance, 
6 


62 


and  one  which  should  entitle  the  inventor  to  the  highest 
remuneration  therefor.  I  have  no  personal  interest  in  the 
patent ;  hut  would  gladly  see  it  extended  to  Mr.  Babbitt, 
as  a  just  reward  for  his  labors. 

[Signed,]  CYRUS   ALGER. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 
Suffolk,  ss.     April  16th,  1853. 

Then  Cyrus  Alger  made  oath  to  the  truth  of  the  fore- 
going certificate,  by  him  subscribed  before  me, 
H.  Montgomery, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   0.  D.  MUNN, 

Proprietor  of  "  The    Scientific  American"  Neiv   York 
City. 

I,  Orson  D.  Munn,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  on  oath 
depose  and  say, —  That  I  have,  for  many  years,  devoted  a 
great  portion  of  my  time  to  the  subject  of  mechanics. 
That  I  have  been  engaged,  for  the  last  seven  years,  in  the 
business  of  examining  machinery,  and  in  procuring  pa- 
tents therefor.  That  I  have  also  dealt  somewhat  largely 
in  the  purchase  and  sale  of  machinery,  of  different  kinds, 
and  have  had  occasion  to  know  and  understand  about  the 
practical  operation  of  locomotive  and  marine   engines, 


63 


steam  vessels,  and  other  machinery.  That  I  am  ac- 
quainted with  Isaac  Babbitt's  patent  for  an  improved 
mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons ;  and  I 
deem  the  invention  one  of  very  great  merit  and  value, 
and  of  high  practical  utility  and  importance,  and  one 
which,  although  introduced,  at  first,  into  practice,  with 
difficulty,  has  become  of  almost  absolute  importance  and 
necessity  to  the  successful  operations  of  heavy  machin- 
ery, and  the  reliable  and  rapid  propulsion  of  locomotives 
and  steam  vessels. 

As  a  means  of  diminishing  friction,  and  preventing  the 
wearing  and  heating  of  axles,  journals,  and  bearings,  and 
also  of  saving  large  expense  in  the  use  of  lubricating 
materials,  I  deem  it  also  of  very  great  value  and  import- 
ance. It  is  impossible  to  fix  a  value  upon  the  invention, 
as  it  is  one  which,  as  at  present  used  and  needed,  could 
not  well  be  dispensed  with,  unless  some  new  matter  could 
be  found  to  take  its  place.  The  inventor,  in  my  judg- 
ment, is  well  entitled  to  a  large  remuneration  for  that 
which  has  proved  to  be  of  such  vast  utility,  value,  and 
importance  to  the  public. 

[Signed,]  0.  D.  MUNK 

City  and  County  of  New  York,  ss. 
Sworn  before  me,  March  19th,  1853. 
M.  S.  Brewster, 

Commissioner  of  Deeds. 


64 

AFFIDAVIT   OF   EOBERT   McFARLANE, 
Editor  of  "  The  Scientific  American"  New  York  City. 

I,  Eobert  McFarlane,  of  the  city  of  New  York,  on 
oath  declare  and  say, —  That  I  have  been,  for  many  years, 
practically  acquainted  with  mechanics  and  machinery,  and 
the  workings  and  operations  thereof.  I  have  made  the 
science  of  mechanics,  and  the  scientific,  as  well  as  prac- 
tical, operations  of  machinery,  my  study  for  a  long  time. 
I  have  a  knowledge  of  Isaac  Babbitt's  patent  for  "an 
improved  mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons," 
granted  in  1839.  And  I  know  that  his  invention  is  a 
vast  improvement  over  the  old  brass  and  gun-metal  bear- 
ings, for  machinery.  That  it  wears  far  longer,  and  is 
attended  with  very  little  friction.  It  has  effected  a  great 
saving  of  power,  by  decreasing  the  amount  of  friction  in 
the  axle  boxes  of  locomotives,  the  axles  of  which  are 
driven  at  such  high  rates  of  speed.  Its  advantages  are 
incalculable,  both  as  it  regards  a  saving  of  lubricating 
materials,  and  the  prevention  of  the  heating  of  journals 
and  axles,  the  latter  of  which,  viz. :  the  heating  of  jour- 
nals, has  been  the  cause  of  frequent  stopping  of  trains, 
the  and  binding  of  axles  and  shafts,  the  frequent 

setting  fire  to  cars,  while  running  at  a  high  rate  of  speed, 
to  the  great  danger  of  the  lives  of  passengers.  Without 
it,  the  successful  and  uniform  operations  and  workings  of 
locomotives  and  steam  vessels,  would  be  entirely  uncer- 
tain, and  liable  to  interruption. 

It  has  come  to  be  considered  and  felt  as  almost,  if  not 


65 


quite,  indispensable  to  all  heavy  machinery,  and  when 
there  is  much  amount  of  strain  and  wear  upon  axles, 
journals,  crank-shafts,  and  connecting-rods,  upon  its  value, 
usefulness,  and  importance,  no  estimate  can  be  put. 

In  my  judgment,  the  inventor  should  be  highly  re- 
warded, as  it  has  been  the  means  of  decreasing  the  cost 
of  running  machinery ;  enabling  machinery  to  be  run  at 
higher  rates  of  velocity,  and  has  increased  the  safety  of 
life  and  limb ;  and,  in  fact,  rendered  certain,  in  the  run- 
ning of  machinery,  what  was  before  uncertain.  The  high- 
est remuneration  is  due  to  one  who  invents  that  which  is 
of  such  great  utility,  value,  and  importance. 
[Signed,]  ROBERT   McFARLANE. 

City  and  County  of  New  York,  ss. 
Sworn  before  me,  March  19,  1853. 

M.  S.  Brewster, 

Commissioner  of  Deeds. 


AFFIDAVIT  OF  N.  MONEOE, 
Agent  of  the  Philadelphia  Oil  Company. 

I,  Nathaniel   Monroe,  of  Boston,  Massachusetts,  on 
oath  depose  and  say, —  That  until  within  a  few  years  past, 
I  have  been  for  more  than  twenty  years  a  practical  me- 
chanic, and  have  been  in  the  habit  of  examining  machinery 
66 


of  various  kinds.  Within  a  few  years  past,  I  have  had 
occasion,  from  my  business  connections,  to  examine  the 
bearings  of  machinery,  and  matters  connected  with  the 
running  of  axles  and  gudgeons,  and  crank-shafts  and  pins, 
in  various  places,  and  of  various  descriptions,  having 
reference  to  the  cheapest  and  best  mode  of  lubricating  and 
running  the  same.  I  am  acquainted  with  Isaac  Babbitt, 
patentee  of  "an  improved  mode  of  making  Boxes  for 
Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  and  have  known  him  for  several 
years ;  I  am  also  acquainted  with  his  said  patent. 

As  a  mode  of  preventing  heating,  abrasion,  and  friction 
of  the  revolving  and  bearing  parts  of  machinery,  and  of 
saving  in  the  use  of  lubricating  materials  and  repairs,  I 
deem  his  invention  to  be  a  great  desideratum,  and  one 
which,  from  my  own  experience,  observation,  and  inquiry, 
I  believe  could  not  now  be  dispensed  with.  It  has  come, 
from  its  own  intrinsic  usefulness  and  importance,  to  be  a 
necessary  in  all  machinery,  where  there  is  much  wear  or 
strain.  Its  value  I  believe  to  be  absolutely  incalculable. 
Mr.  Babbitt  is  a  man  of  great  industry,  skill,  and  truth- 
fulness, and  his  statements  may  be  fully  relied  upon. 
He  has  been  diligent  in  his  attempts  to  introduce  his  in- 
vention into  general  use,  and  to  secure  to  himself  a  fair 
remuneration  therefor ;  but  in  the  early  part  of  the  period 
of  his  patent,  he  labored  under  great  disadvantages,  and 
was  obliged  to  be  at  great  expense  in  so  doing.  I  am 
knowing  to  the  value  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  property,  and  I  am 
of  the  opinion  that,  taking  all  the  property  of  which  he 
is  now  possessed,  (and  a  large  portion  of  it  has  been  de- 


67 


rived  from  sources  other  than  his  said  patent,)  at  its 
highest  value,  Mr.  Babbitt  would  have  received  a  remu- 
neration wholly  inadequate  to  the  value,  usefulness,  and 
importance  of  his  invention.  And  he  has  made  no  losses 
by  speculations  or  bad  investments,  of  what  he  has  re- 
ceived. I  am  not  interested  in  any  way  in  said  patent. 
[Signed,]  NATHANIEL   MONROE. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.    Suffolk,  ss. 
March  29th,  1853.     Sworn  to  before  me, 
C.  Demond,. 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


AFFIDAVIT   OF   JAMES   BLAKE, 
Massachusetts. 

I,  James  Blake,  of  Newton,  Massachusetts,  on  oath 
depose  and  say, —  That  I  know  Mr.  Isaac  Babbitt,  inven- 
tor and  patentee  of  "an  improved  mode  of  making  Boxes 
for  Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  and  have  known  him  for  many 
years.  He  is  a  man  of  rare  knowledge  and  skill,  as  a 
scientific  and  practical  worker  in  metals,  and  of  great  in- 
dustry and  integrity.  Any  statement  made  by  him  may 
be  fully  relied  upon  as  true.  His  acquirements  and  capa- 
bilities have  been,  and  are  such,  that  he  could,  in  my 
judgment,  at  any  time  during  the  last  fourteen  years, 
have  commanded  a  high  price  for  his  services,  and  without 


doubt,  could  have  received  at  least  two  thousand  dollars 
per  annum,  if  he  had  chosen  to  employ  himself  for  wages. 
I  should  think  that  a  sum  smaller  than  the  real  value  of 
his  services,  and  time,  and  skill.  I  knew  Mr.  Babbitt 
well  at  the  time  when  he  procured  his  said  patent,  and  I 
knew  of  the  great  exertions  which  he  made  to  introduce 
his  invention  into  notice  and  use,  and  the  difficulties  and 
embarrassments  which  he  encountered  in  so  doing.  I 
built  for  him  his  first  shop,  and  I  lent  him  money  from 
time  to  time,  to  enable  him  to  prosecute  his  business. 
He  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  to  bring  his  invention  into 
notice,  and  took  unwearied  care  and  pains  to  induce  per- 
sons and  corporations  to  test  it,  and  to  introduce  it  into 
practical  use.  He  found  great  difficulty  in  persuading 
those  who  would  be  most  benefitted  thereby,  of  its  great 
utility  and  value,  and  he  was  obliged  not  only  to  manu- 
facture, and  give  away  largely,  but  even  to  introduce  it 
by  stealth  into  machinery,  in  order  to  induce  others  to 
adopt  and  use  his  invention ;  and  in  his  efforts  and 
labors,  he  not  only  expended  all  the  means  which  he  at 
first  had,  but  fell  largely  in  arrears,  while  pushing  the 
thing  forward.  He  frequently  became  quite  discouraged, 
and  disheartened ;  but  the  consciousness  that  his  inven- 
tion was  actually  of  such  vast  utility  and  importance, 
combined  with  great  energy  and  perseverance,  enabled  him 
to  overcome  difficulties  that  would  have  deterred  others 
from  any  further  effort. 

I  know  of  and  about  Mr.  Babbitt's  said  invention,  and 
I  believe  it  to  be  of  as  much  actual  practical  benefit  to 


G9 


the  community,  as  almost  any  for  winch  a  patent  has  ever 
been  granted.  Its  value,  utility,  and  importance,  as  con- 
nected with  the  running  parts  of  all  heavy  machinery, 
locomotives,  rail-cars,  steam  engines,  steam  vessels,  and 
in  all  cases  where  there  is  large  strain  or  wear,  or 
where  high  rates  of  speed  are  desired,  I  believe  it  to  be 
actually  incalculable.  It  prevents  abrasion  and  heating 
of  the  parts,  greatly  diminishes  friction,  and  occasions  an 
immense  saving  of  expense  in  repairs  and  lubricating  ma- 
terial, while  it  relieves  from  anxiety,  and  greatly  in- 
creases the  safety  of  life  and  limb. 

From  my  knowledge  of  Mr.  Babbitt,  I  believe  that  he 
has  used  all  diligence  in  bringing  his  said  invention  into 
general  notice  and  use,  and  in  endeavoring  to  procure  a 
proper  reward  therefor,  without,  however,  as  regards  the 
latter,  meeting  with  the  success  that  the  value  of  his  in- 
vention ought  to  have  insured.  To  the  best  of  my  knowl- 
edge and  belief,  and  according  to  such  information  as  I 
have,  —  and  I  have  known  him,  and  about  him,  pretty 
intimately,  —  Mr.  Babbitt  has  not  realized  a  remuneration 
at  all  adequate  to  the  importance  of  his  invention.  I  am 
in  no  way  myself  interested  in  his  patent,  nor  do  I  expect 
to  be,  either  directly  or  indirectly. 

[Signed,]  JAMES    BLAKE. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.     Middlesex,  ss. 
March  29th,  1853.     Sworn  to  before  me, 
Horace  B.  Witherell, 

Justice  of  the  Peace, 


70 

AFFIDAVIT   OF   WM.  A.  PIERPONT, 
Machinist  and  Engineer. 

I,  William  A.  Piekpont,  of  Boston,  in  the  State  of  Mass- 
achusetts, on  oath,  depose  and  say, —  I  am  a  practical  ma- 
chinist and  engineer,  and  I  have  been  in  the  business  for 
twenty-five  years.  I  know  Mr.  Isaac  Babbitt,  the  inven- 
tor and  patentee  of  "an  improved  mode  of  making  Boxes 
and  Gudgeons,"  and  I  have  known  him  for  twenty-five 
years  past.  He  first  invented  the  mode  of  making  Brit- 
annia ware  in  this  country,  and  made  a  successful  appli- 
cation thereof,  without  any  foreign  aid.  He  has  also  made 
many  other  very  useful  and  valuable  inventions,  and  has 
contributed  largely  to  the  advancement  of  the  arts  and 
sciences  in  this  country.  He  is  a  man  of  great  industry 
and  perseverance,  and  of  the  greatest  honesty  and  truth- 
fulness of  character.  And  any  statement  made  by  him 
may  be  implicitly  relied  upon  as  true. 

He  is  a  man  of  rare  acquirements  and  skill  as  a  practi- 
cal chemist,  and  assayer  and  metallurgist,  and  of  the  most 
undoubted  capacity  as  a  worker  in  metals.  His  talents 
and  capabilities  would  entitle  him  to  the  highest  compen- 
sation for  his  time  and  services,  and  for  the  last  fourteen 
years,  he  could,  in  my  opinion,  readily  have  commanded 
from  two  to  three  thousand  dollars  per  year,  for  his  time 
and  services  alone.  I  know  of  his  invention  for  making 
boxes  for  axles  and  gudgeons,  for  which  he  obtained  a 
patent  in  July,  A.  D.  1839.  I  was  with  him  personally 
from  September,  1841,  to  November,  1846,  and  knew  of 
his  business  and  movements. 


71 


Prior  to  his  invention,  it  was  a  matter  of  great  difficulty, 
and  almost  impossibility,  to  run  heavy  engines,  marine 
and  locomotive,  or  to  run  any  engines  at  a  high  rate  of 
speed,  with  any  certainty  as  to  time  or  endurance,  from 
the  constant  heating  and  abrasion  of  the  axles,  gudgeons, 
journals,  crank-pins,  and  shafts,  and  a  large  amount  of 
force  was  required  to  overcome  the  friction,  and  great 
expense  was  attendant  upon  the  furnishing  of  lubricating 
materials,  and  the  constant  repairs  necessary  to  keep  the 
machinery  in  running  order.  In  addition  to  all  this  loss 
of  power  and  great  expense,  the  management  of  such  ma- 
chinery occasioned  a  constant  anxiety,  lest  danger  and 
damage  should  occur. 

To  obviate  these  and  other  difficulties,  Mr.  Babbitt, 
after  experimenting,  invented  his  mode  of  making  boxes, 
for  which  he  obtained  his  patent.  The  consequences  of 
his  invention  have  been  greatly  to  diminish  the  friction 
of  the  running  and  rubbing  parts  of  machinery,  to  obviate 
almost  entirely  the  heating  of  said  parts,  to  save  vast 
amounts  of  lubricating  materials,  and  to  prevent  wear 
and  tear,  and  consequent  expense  for  repairs,  to  a  very 
great  degree.  The  power  of  machinery  and  its  capacity 
have  been  greatly  increased,  so  that  engines,  marine  and 
locomotive,  will  not  only  carry  heavier  loads,  but  at  a  far 
higher  rate  of  speed.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  invention 
could  now  be  dispensed  with.  It  has  come  to  be  an  abso- 
lute necessity,  and  a  steamship,  or  a  locomotive,  or  heavy 
steam  engine,  could  not  be  operated  with  certainty,  speed, 
or  safety,  without  it,  or  something  equivalent  to  it. 


72 


I  deem  its  value  to  be  absolutely  incalculable.  The 
United  States  paid  Mr.  Babbitt  $20,000  for  the  use  of 
his  patent ;  but  I  will  venture  to  say,  that  the  saving  to 
government  by  this  means,  as  regards  three  steamships 
alone,  in  the  United  States  Navy,  into  which  it  was  at 
first  introduced,  has  already  been  far  more  than  the  whole 
sum  paid  Mr.  Babbitt. 

No  man  would  now  build  a  steam-vessel  without  it. 

As  its  value,  usefulness,  and  importance  to  the  public 
are  incalculable,  as  regards  capacity,  economy,  speed,  re- 
liability, and  safety,  in  matters  connected  with  machinery, 
so  the  remuneration  to  Mr.  Babbitt  for  such  an  invention 
ought  to  be  in  some  measure  commensurate.  On  the  con- 
trary, however,  his  remuneration  has  been  miserably 
small,  and  hardly  beyond  what  he  might  have  otherwise 
realized,  without  the  labor,  anxiety,  and  expense  he  has 
bestowed,  for  so  many  years,  upon  this  most  useful  inven- 
tion. Being  with  Mr.  Babbitt  in  his  foundry  and  shop 
for  so  many  years,  I  know  of  his  efforts  to  introduce  his 
invention  into  general  use.  It  was  a  matter  of  great  dif- 
ficulty to  overcome  the  prejudices  of  those  who  ought  to 
have  been,  and  now  are,  most  interested  in  the  invention, 
and  who  have  been  most  benefited  thereby. 

It  was  necessary  for  Mr.  Babbitt  to  go  to  great  expense 
in  building,  and  in  procuring  the  means  for  manufacturing 
boxes,  and  to  expend  much  time  and  money  in  the  manu- 
facture of  work,  that  he  might  present  it  already  fitted 
and  ready  for  use.  He  could  not  explain  his  invention,  so 
that  the  prejudiced  persons  would  understand  and  adopt  it. 


73 


He  was  obliged  to  make  his  work,  and  then  beg  others  to 
try  it,  and  in  some  cases,  smuggle  it  into  actual  use, 
before  he  could  persuade  others  of  its  great  import- 
ance and  value.  His  labors  and  efforts  were  unceas- 
ing, and  his  discouragements  were  great  and  almost 
overwhelming. 

But  he  was  so  much  and  so  fully  satisfied  of  the  actual 
intrinsic  value  of  his  invention,  that  he  persevered  in  the 
face  of  obstacles  which  would  have  broken  down  almost 
any  other  man.  Had  it  not  been  for  pecuniary  assistance 
rendered  by  his  friend,  Mr.  Blake,  and  subsequently  for 
the  aid  which  he  derived  from  the  amount  which  was  paid 
him  by  government,  he  would  have  been  utterly  and  hope- 
lessly bankrupt,  as  he  had  already  expended  far  beyond 
his  means,  in  his  efforts  to  introduce  his  invention  into 
use.  We  made  large  amounts  of  work  in  weight  and 
value,  which  Mr.  Babbitt  gave  away  to  railroads  and 
manufactories,  to  induce  them  to  try  the  invention.  He 
was  obliged  to  solicit  the  privilege  of  putting  in  boxes 
into  locomotives  and  other  engines,  with  the  agreement 
that  if  they  did  not  work  well,  he  would  take  them  out, 
and  replace  them  with  the  old  kinds,  without  expense. 
He  gave  large  amounts  to  the  United  States,  and  I  believe 
that  all  that  was  at  first  used  in  the  Mississippi,  Mis- 
souri, and  Princeton  steamers,  was  by  him  furnished  with- 
out expense. 

Mr.  Babbitt's  expenses  connected  with  his  foundry,  and 
shop  and  furnace,  and  the  manufacture  of  carriage  work, 


74 


were  very  large,  necessarily,  and  he  was  obliged  to  work 
at  a  disadvantage,  with  the  hope  of  eventually  realizing 
from  proceeds  of  sale  of  his  patent,  rather  than  from  the 
sale  of  work  made  by  him.  The  work  which  he  made 
was  of  a  high  character  and  finish,  and,  in  my  judgment, 
he  was  instrumental  in  raising  the  quality  of  brass  and 
composition  castings  in  this  country,  from  fifty  to  one 
hundred  per  cent  above  what  they  previously  were ;  that 
is,  by  his  efforts,  and  by  the  means  of  the  superior  qual- 
ity of  the  work  he  made,  the  general  character  of  such 
work  was  greatly  elevated  above  the  former  standards. 
Mr.  Babbitt's  legal  expenses  were  also  heavy,  and  his 
family  expenses  by  no  means  small.  In  my  judgment 
and  to  my  knowledge,  Mr.  Babbitt  used  all  due  diligence 
in  his  efforts  to  introduce  his  invention  into  general  use. 
I  know  of  his  receipts  for  his  invention,  and,  in  my  opin- 
ion, his  whole  remuneration  is  altogether  inadequate  to 
the  great  value  and  importance  of  the  invention  to  the 
public.  Two  hundred  thousand  dollars  would  be  a  sum 
small  enough  to  reward  him  for  all  his  toil,  and  labor, 
and  anxiety,  and  time,  and  services,  when  the  vast  use- 
fulness and  value  of  his  invention  is  considered.  The 
saving  to  the  United  States  Government,  in  the  matter 
of  oil  alone,  by  the  use  of  his  invention,  would  amount, 
in  my  judgment,  to  more  than  all  his  receipts  for  his 
patent. 

I  am  in  no  way  interested  in  said  patent,  nor  in  the 
extension  thereof,  nor  do  I  expect  to  be ;  but  I  should  be 


75 


glad  to  see  said  patent  extended  to  Mr.  Babbitt,  as  an  act 
of  justice,  to  wbich  he  is  well  entitled. 
[Signed,]  WM.  A.  PIERPONT. 

State  of  Massachusetts,  Suffolk,  ss. 
April  loth,  1853.     Sworn  to  before  me, 
C.  Demond, 

Justice  of  the  Peace. 


The  patent  of  Mr.  Babbitt  has  been  sustained  in  the 
courts  both  in  the  United  States  and  of  Great  Britain. 
In  June,  1845,  a  trial  was  had  in  the  United  States  Cir- 
cuit Court,  in  the  Northern  District  of  New  York,  in 
favor  of  Mr.  Babbitt,  against  certain  parties  infringing 
upon  his  patent,  which  resulted  in  a  verdict  of  $4,500  for 
the  Plaintiff,  as  appears  from  the  certificate  of  the  clerk 
of  said  Court,  annexed. 

To  all  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  Greeting : 

Know  ye,  that  I,  Augustus  A.  Boyce,  Clerk  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  the  Northern 
District  of  New  York,  in  the  Second  Circuit,  having  in- 
spected the  records,  files,  and  minutes  of  proceedings  of 
and  in  my  said  ofiice,  do  find  the  following  facts : 


"UNITED   STATES   CIRCUIT  COURT. 

Northern  District  of  New  York. 

Isaac   Babbitt, 

vs. 

The  Buffalo  Steam  Engine  Works. 

This  was  an  action  commenced  on  the  25th  day  of  June, 
1844,  by  the  Plaintiff  against  the  Defendants,  for  an  in- 
fringement by  Defendants,  of  Plaintiff's  Patent  Right,  for 
an  improved  mode  of  making  boxes  for  axles  and  gudg- 
eons, issued  July  17,  1839 :  said  action  was  entered  at 
the  June  Term  of  said  Court,  and  Defendants  having 
entered  their  appearance,  and  filed  their  pleadings,  the 
case  came  on  for  trial  to  Jury,  at  Canandaigua,  in  said 
District,  on  the  19th  day  of  June,  1845,  and,  upon  the 
evidence,  the  jury  found  for  the  Plaintiff,  and  awarded 
damages  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  ($4,500)  in 
favor  of  the  Plaintiff,  and  against  the  Defendants. 

In  Testimony  Whereof,  I  have  hereunto  subscribed  my 
name,  and  affixed  my  official  seal,  at  the  clerk's  office,  in 
Utica,  in  said  District,  this  30th  day  of  September,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  eight  iiundred  and 
fifty  three,  and  of  our  Independence  the  seventy-eighth. 

|  seal.  >•  AUGUSTUS  A.  BOYCE. 

§¥5*8*3*  Clerk:9 


77 


EXTRACTS  FROM  LETTERS,  &C. 


The  following  are  some  extracts  from  the  letters  of  the 
distinguished  counsel  of  the  Defendants,  in  that  suit,  to 
his  clients  ;  which,  upon  final  settlement,  were  furnished 
to  Mr.  Babbitt. 

Canandaigua,  June  l&th,  1845. 

Gent  —  Mr.  Babbitt  is  on  the  ground  with  a  large 
number  of  witnesses,  and  well  prepared  to  try  his  cause. 
He  has  taken  the  depositions  of  our  New  York  witnesses, 
and  knows  exactly  what  they  will  swear  to.  Our  Buffalo 
witness,  Ayers,  as  the  time  approaches,  begins  to  recede 
from  his  position,  and  I  have  no  confidence  that  he  will 
do  us  any  good.  After  the  closest  scrutiny  and  exami- 
nation, I  have  no  confidence  that  we  can  defend  success- 
fully. Supposing  that  we  might  make  better  terms  with 
Babbitt,  I  moved  the  cause  over,  this  morning,  which,  you 
know,  requires  us  to  pay  the  costs  of  the  term.  The 
costs  are  very  heavy,  and  we  cannot,  at  next  term,  be  any 

better  prepared  than  we  are  now,  and  it  would  be  throw- 

70 


73 


ing  away  money  to  pay  them.  In  fact,  his  patent  is  a 
new  and  useful  invention,  and  we  have  violated  it,  and  it 
is  of  no  use  to  try  to  get  rid  of  the  consequences. 

In  taking  this  course,  I  have  advised  with  your  Secre- 
tary, Mr.  AYarren,  and  your  President,  Mr.  Williamson, 
who  concur  with  me  in  opinion. 

I  will  write  you  again  after  the  cause  is  tried. 
To  the  Buffalo  Steam  Engine  Works,  Buffalo. 


Ganandaigua,  June  \§th,  1845. 

Gent. —  Your  cause  was  reached,  and  the  plaintiff  took 
a  verdict  for  $4,500,  which,  under  the  proof,  is  moderate. 
I  watched  Mr.  Stevens'  proof,  and  it  was  conclusive  in 
every  point ;  our  witnesses  could  not  have  shaken  it  in 
the  least.  Babbitt  seems  to  be  a  fair  man ;  but  will  fight 
to  the  last  for  his  rights.  He  has  money,  perseverance, 
and  witnesses,  and  it  would  cost  one  more  to  litigate  and 
beat  him,  than  to  buy  his  right.  You  will  be  able  to 
judge  how  dreadfully  expensive  litigation  in  this  court  is, 
when  I  tell  you  that  the  witnesses  fees  alone,  taxed 
against  us  for  this  term,  amount  to  more  than  $500. 

Your  only  method  now  is  to  deal  gently  and  fairly  with 
Mr.  Babbitt,  and  I  think  he  will  not  be  hard  with  you. 
To  the  Buffalo  Steam  Engine  Woi'hs. 

The  whole  matter  was  subsequently  compromised,  and 
the  defendants  purchased  a  license  of  Mr.  Babbitt. 


79 


Another  suit  was  commenced  against  the  Attica  and 
Buffalo  Railroad;  but  the  Company  came  forward  and 
purchased  a  license,  and  the  suit  was  dropped. 

A  third  suit  was  brought  against  the  Boston  Mill  Dam 
Company;  but  that  also  was  settled  by  the  Company 
without  a  trial,  and  a  license  purchased. 

The  same  matter  was  also  tried  in  England,  in  1845, 
and  with  a  similar  result.  A  patent  for  the  "  improved 
mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudgeons,"  was 
granted  in  England,  to  Mr.  Newton,  agent  of  Mr.  Babbitt, 
in  1843,  and  at  the  Liverpool  Summer  Assizes,  the  case 
of  Newton,  vs.  The  Grand  Junction  Railway  Company, 
was  tried ;  being  an  action  brought  against  the  Defendants 
for  an  infringement  of  said  patent.  After  a  long  and 
very  hotly  contested  trial,  the  jury  rendered  a  verdict 
sustaining  the  patent,  and  awarding  the  Plaintiff  damages 
to  the  amount  of  £1,000,  or  $5,000.  The  most  eminent 
counsel  were  retained  in  the  case,  and  upon  a  subsequent 
hearing  before  the  Court  of  Exchequer,  for  a  new  trial,  in 
January,  1846,  the  judges  fully  sustained  the  verdict,  and 
the  motion  for  a  new  trial  was  overruled. 

The  case  is  reported  in  the  6th  volume  of  English  Law 
and  Equity  Beports,  p.  557,  to  which  reference  may  be 
had. 


81 


OPINION  OF  COUNSEL  UPON  THE  PATENT. 


Boston,  October  20,  1853. 
Dear  Sir  :  —  I  am  requested  by  my  client,  Mr.  Isaac 
Babbitt,  to  submit  to  your  consideration  his  patent  for 
an  improved  mode  of  making  Boxes  for  Axles  and  Gudg- 
eons, issued  July  17,  1839,  and  extended  for  seven  years 
from  July  17,  1853.  My  own  opinion  is  very  decided  in 
favor  of  the  originality  of  the  invention,  the  utility  of 
the  improvement,  and  the  validity  of  the  patent,  and  is 
equally  decided  as  to  what  may  constitute  an  infringe- 
ment. Will  you,  however,  give  the  subject  your  atten- 
tion, and  express  to  me  your  views  in  writing,  after  care- 
fully considering  the  claims  made  by  my  client,  and  the 
facts  which  I  have  had  the  honor  to  submit  to  you  here- 
tofore, regarding  Mr.  Babbitt  and  his  connection  with 
this  invention. 

Respectfully  yours, 

A.  B.  ELY, 

52  Washington  Street 
To  William  Whiting,  Esq., 

Counsellor  at  Law, 

35  Court  Street. 


82 


Boston,  November  10,  1853. 

Dear  Sir  :  —  After  thorough  investigation  of  the  facts 
relating  to  the  origin  and  development  of  the  improvement 
of  Mr.  Isaac  Babbitt,  and  consideration  of  the  questions 
upon  which  (in  behalf  of  your  client)  you  desire  my  opin- 
ion, I  am  prepared  to  state  the  following  conclusions. 

1st.  That  the  patent,  the  addition  thereto,  and  the 
extension  of  both,  are  in  due  form  of  law,  and  are  valid. 

2d.  As  to  the  utility  of  the  improvement,  its  almost 
universal  adoption  in  Europe  and  America,  upon  a  great 
variety  of  machinery,  including  steamboats,  locomotives 
and  cars,  stationary  enginery,  and  in  short  upon  nearly 
every  description  of  bearings  in  which  great  weight  or 
great  speed  is  desirable,  is  sufficient  and  conclusive  evi- 
dence. The  appropriation  of  $20,000  by  Congress,  the 
extension  of  the  patent  by  the  Commissioner  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  testimony  of  machinists,  engineers,  and 
scientific  men,  put  at  rest  all  doubt  as  to  the  utility  or 
value  of  the  invention  secured  by  the  letters  patent. 

3d.  Whenever  any  new  and  important  discovery  has 
been  made,  and  has  proved  successful,  some  persons  are 
always  found  who  are  ready  to  set  up  claims  to  a  priority 
of  invention.  The  electric  telegraph,  the  ether  discovery, 
are  recent  instances ;  and  in  earlier  times,  the  steamboat, 
the  cotton-gin,  the  hot-air  blast  furnace,  the  application 
of  anthracite  coal  to  the  manufacture  of  iron,  will  furnish 
further,  instances  of  the  same  description  of  unfounded 
pretensions. 

The  question  which  arose  in  all  these  cases  was,  not 


whether,  in  some  solitary  instance,  an  individual  may 
have  tried  experiments,  (successful  or  not,)  —  leaving  the 
alleged  invention  undeveloped,  or  immature  and  fruit- 
less,—  but  whether,  previously  to  the  patentee,  any  more 
fortunate  person  had  fully  completed  the  invention,  and 
by  introducing  it  into  public  use  or  notice,  had  thus  prac- 
tically added  to  the  stock  of  knowledge,  that  which  was 
not  known  before  ? 

So  in  the  present  case,  when  we  observe  the  striking 
effects  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  improvement  upon  the  machinery 
of  this  country  and  of  England,  the  great  saving  of  oil 
and  of  other  lubricating  material,  the  extent  and  variety 
of  uses  to  which  it  has  been  applied,  and  the  unanimity 
of  opinion  among  practical  men,  in  regard  to  the  import- 
ance and  value,  as  well  as  the  simplicity  of  the  invention, 
it  would  be  strange  if  some  person  did  not  appear  who 
would,  as  usual,  set  up  the  old  pretence  that  he  knew  all 
about  the  matter  long  before  Mr.  Babbitt's  day  ! 

But  if  this  were  in  fact  the  case,  why  was  the  inven- 
tion, at  once  so  simple  and  so  valuable,  indeed  so  indis- 
pensable— if  it  was  really  made,  and  understood  by  the 
pretended  inventor — allowed  to  be  thrown  aside,  forgotten, 
or  abandoned  ?  not  used,  brought  forward,  taken  up  and 
made  public  as  it  was  by  Mr.  Babbitt ;  and  perhaps  by 
these  very  pseudo  inventors,  after  Mr.  Babbitt  had  taught 
them  what  the  invention  was  ? 

Every  case  where  priority  has  been  claimed  by  any 
person,  has  been  investigated  by  the  patentee  or  his 
agents,   (wherever  they  have  had  opportunity,)  and  in 


84 


every  instance  it  has  turned  out  that  the  alleged  claims 
were  unfounded. 

This  pretended  defence  of  want  of  novelty  and  original- 
ity of  invention  has  been  the  subject  of  judicial  investi- 
gation in  the  highest  courts  of  England  and  the  United 
States,  and  in  both  countries  the  courts  and  juries  have 
decided  in  favor  of  the  patent.  And  there  has  been,  for 
many  years,  an  almost  universal  acquiescence  in  the  jus- 
tice of  Mr.  Babbitt's  claims,  by  a  vast  number  of  indi- 
viduals and  corporations,  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
who  have  held  licenses  or  grants  under  the  patentee,  and 
who  are  thereby  estopped  from  disputing  the  validity  of 
his  claim. 

Under  these  circumstances  it  seems  difficult  to  imagine 
a  case  in  which  a  patent  can  stand  upon  a  firmer  or 
broader  basis,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  question  of  the 
novelty  and  originality  of  the  invention. 

4th.  In  relation  to  the  subject  of  infringements,  you 
are  aware  that,  in  order  to  render  a  defendant  liable  to 
damages,  it  is  not  necessary  to  show  that  he  has  used 
exactly  the  same  mode  shown  in  the  patent,  for  holding 
the  soft  metal  in  its  place ;  whatever  is  substantially  the 
same  mode  as  that  prescribed  or  recommended  in  the 
patent  will,  if  used,  be  an  infringement. 

In  the  case  tried  in  England,  no  flanges  whatever  were 
used  by  the  defendants ;  but  they  substituted  a  contriv- 
ance which  was  a  mere  equivalent,  and  were,  therefore, 
found  guilty.  There  are  various  evasions  of  the  patent, 
which  are  palpable  infringements,  some  of  which  have 


85 


been  recently  brought  to  my  notice  ;  such  as  holding  the 
soft  metal  in  place  by  running  it  into  holes,  or  small 
cavities,  of  regular  or  irregular  shapes  ;  the  use  of  narrow- 
longitudinal  strips  of  soft  metal  alternating  with  hard 
metal ;  the  hammering  of  the  soft  metal  into  the  boxes, 
instead  of  running  it  in,  or  causing  it  to  adhere  by  the 
tinning  process ;  the  use  of  any  description  or  shape  of 
the  hard  metal,  whereby  the  lining  is  prevented  from 
leaving  its  true  position,  by  lateral  pressure  or  resistance 
of  the  hard  metal,  which  constitutes  the  substance  of  the 
box  or  bearing.  All  these,  and  similar  modes  of  obtain- 
ing the  beneficial  results  of  Mr.  Babbitt's  invention,  are 
plain  and  gross  violations  of  the  rights  secured  to  him  in 
the  letters  patent. 

Respectfully  yours, 

WILLIAM  WHITING, 

35  Court  Street 
A.  B.  Ely,  Esq., 

Counsellor  at  Law. 


86 


DIRECTIONS 

For  preparing  Babbitt's  Anti -Attrition  Metal  for  lining 
Boxes. 

In  the  first  place,  I  melt  four  pounds  of  copper,  and 
when  melted,  add  by  degrees,  twelve  pounds  best  quality 
Banca  tin,  then  add  eight  pounds  regulus  of  antimony, 
and  then  twelve  pounds  more  of  tin,  while  the  composi- 
tion is  in  a  melted  state. 

After  the  copper  is  melted,  and  four  or  five  pounds  of 
tin  have  been  added,  the  heat  should  he  lowered  to  a  dull 
red  heat,  in  order  to  prevent  oxidation ;  then  add  the  re- 
mainder of  the  metal,  as  above  named. 

In  melting  the  composition,  it  is  better  to  keep  a  small 
quantity  of  powdered  charcoal  in  the  pot,  on  the  surface 
of  the  metal. 

I  make  the  above  composition  in  the  first  place,  which 
I  call  hardening ;  then,  as  I  want  to  use  for  lining  work, 
I  take  one  pound  of  the  hardening,  and  melt  with  two 
pounds  Banca  tin,  which  produces  the  licing  metal  I  now 
use,  which  I  consider  the  best  I  have  ever  used.  So  that 
the  proportions  for  lining  metal  is,  four  pounds  copper, 
eight  regulus  of  antimony,  and  ninety-six  pounds  tin.. 


87 


The  object  I  Lave  in  first  preparing  the  hardening  as 
aboye  mentioned,  is  economy ;  for  when  the  whole  is 
melted  together,  I  find  there  is  a  great  waste  of  metal,  as 
the  hardening  is  melted  at  a  much  less  degree  of  heat, 
than  the  copper  and  antimony  separately. 

I  find,  in  my  practice,  that  in  melting  the  lining  metal, 
or  tin  for  tinning  the  boxes,  there  is  some  oxidation  on 
the  surface  of  the  metal,  which  should  be  skimmed  off. 
This  oxide  I  save,  and  when  I  get  a  quantity,  put  it  into 
a  black  lead  crucible,  add  about  one-tenth  in  bulk  of 
pounded  charcoal,  expose  it  to  a  smart  red  heat,  which 
brings  it  back  again  to  metal  fit  for  use. 

The  box  or  article  to  be  lined,  having  been  cast  with  a 
recess  for  soft  metal,  is  to  be  nicely  fitted  to  a  former, 
which  is  made  the  same  shape  as  the  bearing,  except  be- 
ing a  hair  larger  than  the  bearing. 

Drill  a  hole  in  the  box  for  the  reception  of  the  metal, 
say  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  inch,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  box.  The  box  having  been  thus  prepared,  coat 
over  the  part  not  to  be  tinned  with  a  clay  wash ;  wet  the 
part  to  be  tinned  with  alcohol,  and  sprinkle  on  sal  ammo- 
niac, ground  as  fine  as  common  table  salt.  Heat  the  box 
till  a  fume  arises  from  the  sal  ammoniac,  and  immerse  it 
in  a  kettle  of  Banca  tin  melted,  care  being  taken  not  to 
heat  it  so  that  it  oxidises. 

After  the  box  is  tinned,  should  it  have  a  colored  ap- 
pearance, sprinkle  a  little  sal  ammoniac,  which  will  make 
it  of  a  bright  silver  color,  and  cool  it  gradually  in  water ; 
then  take  the  former,  to  which  the  box  has  been  fitted,. 


ss 


and  coat  it  over  with  a  thin  clay  wash,  and  warm  it  so 
that  it  will  be  perfectly  dry ;  heat  the  box  until  the  tin 
begins  to  melt,  lay  it  on  the  former,  and  pour  in  the 
metal,  which  should  not  be  so  hot  as  to  oxidise,  giving 
the  metal  a  head,  so  that  as  it  shrinks  it  will  fill  up. 

After  it  is  sufficiently  cool,  take  it  off  the  former  and 
scour  the  box,  so  that  there  may  be  no  sand  or  dirt  on  it, 
which  would  injure  the  bearing. 

P.  S. —  A  shorter  method  may  be  adopted  when  the 
work  is  light  enough  to  handle  quickly,  viz. :  ichen  the 
box  is  prepared  for  tinning,  it  may  be  immersed  in  the 
lining  metal  instead  of  the  tin,  brushed  lightly,  in  order 
to  remove  the  sal  ammoniac  from  the  surface,  placed  im- 
mediately on  the  former,  and  lined  with  the  same  heat. 


The  Patent  Boxes  are  used  on  almost  all  the  railroads 
and  steamboats,  and  in  almost  all  the  machine  shops  in 
the  country ;  a  large  portion  of  which  purchased  rights 
of  Mr.  Babbitt  for  the  use  of  his  patent,  during  the  orig- 
inal term  thereof,  which  expired  July  17,  1853. 


